Melbourne Storm vs Brisbane Broncos – Thursday night – AAMI Park

There is an obvious form line to use as a reference for this contest - with both teams taking on the in-form Bunnies in successive weeks. The Rabbitohs knocked off the Broncos 32-6 in round nine, and backed that up with a 28-12 win over the Storm. Notably, both games were in Brisbane, so a home game for the Broncos and a neutral venue for the Storm. I was surprised at the number of Storm jerseys I saw walking around Suncorp in Magic Round - they probably had more support in the crowd than the Bunnies. On raw figures alone, you would give the Storm a slight edge, particularly as they return to Melbourne on Thursday night. A few things to consider before any of us jump to conclusions. Firstly, the Broncos have had an extra day to prepare for this, and every day helps. Secondly (and more importantly), the Broncos were without Haas and Mam when they lost to the Rabbitohs, and they are clearly a better side with those inclusions. While the Broncos recent record against the Storm reads like a horror story, this is the best the Broncos have looked in years, and the Storm have clearly come down a notch or two from that dominant level they maintained for so long. In any case, it's the game of the round, so let's all tune in and see if I'm right.

Verdict – Broncos by 4

Result – Storm 24 defeated Broncos 16

Canterbury Bulldogs vs New Zealand Warriors – Friday night – Accor Stadium

Possibly the hardest game of the round. The Warriors beat the Bulldogs in round four but that was in Auckland and the Warriors could be in a bit of a rut at the moment. They've scored just one try in their last two games and I'm not convinced they can defend their way to a victory against the Bulldogs. Josh Addo-Carr is a welcome return for the Bulldogs in a backline brimming with exciting young talent. Clearly he wants to show everyone he's back and firing, and he'll be wanting to get the attention of the NSW Blues coach. I'm with the home side but not confidently so.

Verdict – Bulldogs by 1

Result – Warriors 24 defeated Bulldogs 12

Penrith Panthers vs Sydney Roosters – Friday night – BlueBet Stadium

The Roosters are struggling in attack and it doesn't look like the demotion of Sam Walker has fixed the problem. Conditions played a part, but the Chooks scored just one try against the Cowboys last week, and that was in the 78th minute when the game was well and truly over. It's the key issue on Friday night, because the Panthers still have the best defence in the competition. It's an extraordinary thing really, as the Panthers have only won one more game than they've lost. When they do lose, they don't lose by much (1, 1, 2 and 4). The most points they have conceded in any game is 20 against the Rabbitohs, and they conceded half those points in the last five minutes. When you have a team struggling in attack against the team with the best defence in the NRL, the result looks a foregone conclusion. That said, the Roosters are a proud team, so I'm expecting a tight low-scoring contest.

Verdict – Panthers by 7

​​​​​​​Result – Panthers 48 defeated Roosters 4

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Wests Tigers – Saturday afternoon – Accor Stadium

The Tigers are in fair form - winning two in a row and the two they lost before that were contests. It's terrific, but they need to find another gear on Saturday, because the Bunnies form is on another level. I'm sure the Tigers will give a fair account of themselves, but that next gear will be hard to find.

Verdict – Rabbitohs by 14

​​​​​​​Result – Rabbitohs 20 defeated Tigers 0

North Queensland Cowboys vs St George Illawarra Dragons – Saturday night – Queensland Country Bank Stadium

One swallow does not a season make, but the Cowboys were very good against the Roosters in Magic Round. Perhaps the Roosters were very bad, but it looked like the Cowboys best performance of the year thus far. You would hope they can back that up in front of their diehards at home. The Dragons, once again, lost a game where they scored as many tries as their opponent. They had plenty of chances to beat the Tigers, but some baffling and at times comical choices saw them fall short. Ben Hunt, who appears to be the lone hand holding the Dragons together as a club, becomes the 47th player to notch up 300 games in first grade. You'd think his team-mates would rally together and give the bloke something to smile about. I expect they will try, but stupidity is likely to get in the way. The Dragons have been stupid since the Paul Vaughan barbecue - perhaps it was something they ate.

Verdict – Cowboys by 4

​​​​​​​Result – Cowboys 42 defeated Dragons 22

Canberra Raiders vs Parramatta Eels – Saturday night – GIO Stadium

The Raiders aren't getting a lot of attention, but they have won four in a row and find themselves a part of that logjam of teams between 3rd and 9th on the NRL ladder. There's a bunch of games in the weeks ahead that the Raiders could easily win, so now would be a sensible time to back them for a top four/top eight finish...if that's your caper. I think they keep on winning this weekend. The Eels will miss the kicking game of Mitchell Moses. That puts extra pressure on the Parramatta forwards, who are up against a big Raiders pack who have had two extra days to prepare for this. They're also away from home, and the Eels havent won a game outside of Sydney this season. A Saturday night in Canberra in May doesn't sound like fun for anyone, let alone a team who are struggling on the road.

Verdict – Raiders by 4

​​​​​​​Result – Raiders 26 defeated Eels 18

Newcastle Knights vs Gold Coast Titans – Sunday afternoon – McDonald Jones Stadium

If you believed everything you heard and read you'd think there are 20 Newcastle Knights players playing drinking games in Kuta right now. In reality, one Newcastle player went to Bali, and it sounds like he's just been spending some quality time with his girlfriend and hanging out in the pool. Hardly headline-grabbing stuff, but don't hold your breath waiting for anyone in the media to apologise. Anyhoo...the Knights are coming off the bye which is usually a good thing. The Knights are also playing in Newcastle on a Sunday afternoon, and that has usually been a good thing too. Kalyn Ponga gets another chance to catch the eye of Queensland coach Billy Slater (but he's running out of chances). So there's plenty of reasons to get behind the Knights in this one, but I still can't. The Titans have won two in a row and hardly anyone expected them to win either, but they're going gangbusters. Their forwards are fit and firing and the halves pairing of Foran and Boyd works. The risk is that Foran can't get through the game, and you could see he was struggling at times against the Eels. Providing he can play through the pain for 80 minutes I see no reason to doubt them. For the numerologists among you, have a look at the Titans scores for the last month. There's a pattern, and I think 26 points is enough to beat the Knights.

Verdict – Titans by 4

​​​​​​​Result – Knights 46 defeated Titans 26

Manly Sea Eagles vs Cronulla Sharks – Sunday afternoon – 4 Pines Park

There is some chance that Manly are becoming a rabble. They remind me a little of the Dragons - with a talented, experienced Queensland halfback trying to keep a bunch of noodlehead cockroaches in line. Cherry-Evans is giving his all, but is now suffering from Geoff Toovey syndrome. What's that, you ask? Well, I'm old enough to remember when Toovey was a fresh-faced, blue-eyed, blond-haired poster boy. Now he looks like Gollum on a bad day. Sadly for Cherry-Evans, his poster boy days are long behind him, and it's Manly's fault, I think. He should have taken the gig on the Gold Coast I say. The new poster boy will lead the Sharks around on Sunday, and gets a chance to convince the NSW selectors he is the answer. After a poor performance last week, I think he will bounce back here.

Verdict – Sharks by 8

​​​​​​​Result – Sharks 20 defeated Sea Eagles 14

Wally Lewis - round eleven selections (in bold)

Note: tips from Wally will be published on Wednesday night or Thursday morning

• Storm vs BRONCOS
• Bulldogs vs WARRIORS
• PANTHERS vs Roosters
• RABBITOHS vs Tigers
• COWBOYS vs Dragons
• RAIDERS vs Eels
• Knights vs TITANS
• Sea Eagles vs SHARKS