This round was bookended by big upsets. There is a lot to unpack this week.
And can you believe we are a quarter of the way through the season? We have ANZAC round this week, Magic Round in May and State of Origin at the end of May. This season is going way too quickly.
This Week’s Upsets
The Sea Eagles took advantage of a Cowboys team that completed at an NRL record low 44% walloping the Cows 38-6. This was after Tommy Turbo broke down again in the first quarter of the match.
While the Sea Eagles did enough to win, the Cowboys didn’t show up, at home, to take advantage of their fine form over the past month.
The Cowboys will have the opportunity to make amends with their home fans when they take on the Sharks.
The Sea Eagles will also have an opportunity to repay their fans with their first victory at home when they take on the Eels. This should be straight forward except…
The Eels Demolish The Dogs
Nobody saw this coming. Well, except for three smart (desperate) Tipsters. The Eels coming off a cricket score against the lowly Titans and the Bulldogs defeating premiership favourites Panthers in the previous week.
The Eels despite their injury toll, despite being booed off last week, were all class. This was an entertaining game to watch.
The Bulldogs again showed their Achilles heel, which is their spluttering attack. Or lack of. Without their Captain and go to man Stephen Crichton, they are without their one trick pony.
Last week, the Bulldogs amassed five tries against the Panthers. But this was an anomaly. Even the 20 points scored against the Eels was flattering with two late tries.
The Nail Biters
Raiders Hold On
The Raiders v Storm game was another game the Green Machine had in the bag. Done and dusted. Leading 26-16 with less than 7 minutes to go. Even the commentators were praising the Raiders for their first win at home this season.
And then the Storm scored.
The last five minutes was fun to watch. The Raiders had another try dissallowed and the Storm threw everything they had at them.
The disallowed try and closeness must have unnerved all fans at the Stadium with flashbacks to last year’s finals. Coach Ricky Stuart state he used to jump up and down like an idiot when they scored but can’t anymore in fear of the lead up.
News flash Sticky. Reviewing each try is not just for the Canberra Raiders.
For the Storm, they are in uncharted waters with their 5th straight loss and take on 4th placed Rabbitohs on ANZAC Day.
Panthers Ice Cold In Dawin Heat
The Panthers were at their cool and calculating best leading 18-0 at halftime before ‘Phins Herbie Farnworth and Selwyn Cobbo awoke.
Four tries in 15 minutes and the Dolphins were all over the Panthers.
But showing their class, the Panthers only needed one opportunity late in the game to level the scores and one opportunity in golden point to walk away winners. Although, they probably should have kicked that field goal in regulation time.
The ‘Phins had a chance to kick a long-range field goal which went wide. Nathan Cleary then took care of the match from there.
Tigers Balloon Burst
The Brisbane Broncos led 18-14 at halftime where all statistics pointed to, what should have been, a comfortable lead to the Wests Tigers.
The game itself was another cracker in front of a capacity Tigers crowd. The Wests Tigers were the only try scorers in the second half and it came down to Broncos’ legend Adam Reynolds kicking a field goal with 10 minutes to go that was the difference.
This was the biggest test for the Wests Tigers who have not yet beaten any of the heavyweights this season. They were close against a Broncos team that has been devastated by injury and take on the Raiders, opening ANZAC round, at Leichhardt on Thursday night.
In Other Games
The Wah’s and Roosters continue their impressive form with wins of Titans and Knights.
It’s officially game over for Dragons’ coach Shane Flanagan after losing to the Rabbitohs 30-12. As at time of writing, the Dragons have already had their press conference.
This Round’s Results
This Round’s Stats
| Standouts Correct | 12 |
| Standouts Wrong | 38 |
| Round High Score | 8 – UpthePamfers, Bart Simpson, Ramin Dadisho, Wiley C, gdadisho, Pablo, SMOG, Westy |
| Round Low Score | 1 – isha68, Krusty, MLC |
| Average Score | 3.5 |
| Biggest Mover | +9 – Ramin Dadisho |
| Biggest Drop | -12 – Shagger |
The Standout
76% correct this week.
It was a good week unless you were one of the twelve Tipsters who picked the Cows or Doggies as Standout.
Main Competition
Chunka‘s reign is over. Long live Chunka!
Rocketing into top position is UpthePamfers who is holding off Bart Simpson by a mere 47-point differential.
Who will be leading next week?
Bart Simpson Weekly Jackpot
Still no perfect rounds for 2026. The Bart Simpson Weekly Jackpot continues to climb to a new season high of B$80.
As always, good luck with your team and tipping this week.
Rob
The Creator
Images courtesy: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images, NRL Photos, NRL Imagery
Dragons suck really bad
It’s officially the end of the Shane Flanagan era.
St George Illawarra need to grow a backbone.
Good luck with a new coach. The first things that needs to be done is to get rid of the deadwood presently in the First Grade Squad.
Good luck with that, with the politics in the St George boardroom.