South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Brisbane Broncos – Thursday night – Accor Stadium

The Broncos have now lost five games in a row, and their last two losses were against the teams running last and second last. It doesn't read like the form of a team defending a 2025 premiership. They can be better than this, and they should be better than this, but we haven't seen it for some time, and time is something the Broncos are now short of. A premiership defence from here looks impossible, and even a top eight finish will be difficult. Quite the fall from the lofty heights of September last year. Three of their best are in Origin camp on Thursday night (Haas, Walsh, Staggs) and two others who would be in Origin camp are out injured (Carrigan, Shebasaki). Jordan Riki returns, and he's been strong when available this year. It's something. For the Rabbits, they lose Murray to representative duties, while Graham and Keppie take a bed each in the casualty ward. The Bunnies have named Jai Arrow on their reserves list, as he is officially retired from the NRL. The Bunnies aren't in great form either, having lost three games in a row. Those losses were against better teams than recent Broncos losses however, and they've had an extra week to prepare for this one.

Verdict - Rabbitohs by 8

Result - Rabbitohs 48 defeated Broncos 6

Redcliffe Dolphins vs Sydney Roosters – Friday night – Suncorp Stadium

Many NRL fans are envious of the roster depth at the Roosters, but that depth will be well tested on Friday night. A quick glance at the back five for the tricolours and one wonders how they'll go against a Dolphins backline which isn't full-strength, but it's pretty good. No knock on those chickens lacing up boots I should add, they're all much better footballers than I am. Their forward pack still looks solid, but the Dolphins pack can lose Flegler, Finefeuiaki and Plath to Origin and it's still good enough to have Gilbert, Stone and Donoghue on the bench. Class prevails.

Verdict - Dolphins by 14

Result - Dolphins 48 defeated Roosters 10

New Zealand Warriors vs Cronulla Sharks – Saturday night – Go Media Stadium

After tipping a few upsets last week (and getting them all wrong) I'm perhaps a little gun shy, but there are perfectly cromulent reasons for tipping the Sharks on Saturday night. They've already beaten the Warriors this year - 36 to 22 in round five. Note that the round five Warriors team included the following players now unavailable - Boyd, Metcalf, Tuivasa-Sheck, Nicoll-Klokstad, Fisher-Harris, Halasima. So, the Sharks can head into this game feeling like they can win this. But, home ground advantage has left me siding the Warriors. They haven't played at home for a while now, and they'll be keen to get back to a crowd that probably sold out a month ago. They've lost just the once at home this season - against the Tigers when they were on a tear. As for the Sharks, their only away wins this season were against the Raiders who have been poor much of the season and the Bulldogs at a neutral ground. Auckland won't be neutral, and home crowd support can lift the Warriors to the win. Looks a contest though, and it's the game of the round.

Verdict - Warriors by 4

Result - Sharks 10 defeated Warriors 8

Parramatta Eels vs Canberra Raiders  – Saturday night – CommBank Stadium

No team has disappointed me more than the Raiders in 2026. Many thought they over-performed last season, while I thought they would actually get better. They're a young team with speed to burn, and I expected the 2026 rule settings to help them. I was clearly wrong. Despite that, I'm tipping them again this weekend. Partly because the Eels are on a fairly quick turnaround from a Monday afternoon game, but also because the teams the Raiders have been playing against in recent outings (Panthers, Dolphins, Cowboys, Roosters) all look like top eight teams to me. The Raiders are without Strange, Young and Tamale on Saturday, but their spine of Weekes, Laurie, Sanders and Starling should be good enough to get this done. Should be. I fear I'll be disappointed again, but

Verdict - Raiders by 4

Result - Eels 15 defeated Raiders 12

Wests Tigers vs Gold Coast Titans – Sunday afternoon – Leichhardt Oval

Losing 68-0 can't be good for the soul, and Tigers coach Benji Marshall made it clear that wasn't good enough, in case the team hadn't worked that out for themselves. Teams often bounce back off terrible performances like that, and it wouldn't surprise me if the Tigers do the same. Especially so at Leichhardt Oval on a Sunday afternoon. It's a venue and a timeslot that often brings out a better version of the Tigers. They haven't lost at Leichhardt this season, and they've won of their last six at the ground. Bodes well. The Titans did well to knock off the Broncos last week but they usually lift for that game, and more often than not struggle to get themselves up for the game that follows. 

Verdict - Tigers by 10

Result - Tigers 36 defeated Titans 28

Wally Lewis - round fifteen selections (in bold)

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

• RABBITOHS vs Broncos
• DOLPHINS vs Roosters
• WARRIORS vs Sharks
• Eels vs RAIDERS
• TIGERS vs Titans