Another big round of footy. Entertaining matches, comebacks and the dreaded red pen is back.
Roosters v Broncos
What a tale of two halves. In the first half the Roosters were near perfect and with 70% possession it’s no wonder they held a 24-0 halftime lead. And when the chooks scored just after halftime and Broncos’ legend, and halfback, Adam Reynolds got knocked out to Round 11, the game looked done and feather dusted.
Except, if you looked at the halftime stats, the Broncos were still well and truly in the game. They just needed more ball, and the Roosters famous ill-discipline let them straight back into the match.
Four tries in 15 minutes and the score was 30-24 with 15 minutes remaining.
The Broncos were going to win this until the Roosters ill-discipline rubbed off on Bronco Katoni Staggs whose cheap shot elbow to the head of a tackled player saw him binned for 10 minutes and suspended for two weeks.
The Roosters may have won but there is plenty to like from the Broncos camp as well.
Knights v Latrell Rabbitohs
What an entertaining game of football. The Knights with all their troops back returned to the form that saw them start the season in the top 4.
The Knights started fast to post four tries in 23 minutes to lead 28-10 at halftime. It looked to be a foregone conclusion, and the Bunnies had to score first in the second half.
And score they did. It looked like a red and green tidal wave was coming with the Knights continually handing the ball over. Latrell Mitchell was huge and got the Rabbitohs to a 38-36 lead with seven on the clock.
But a try to Knights Trey Mooney almost immediately after was enough to close out the game. Latrell had one last chance to win the game in the final seconds but was caught short in the corner.
Great game no matter who you tipped. Just not great for Rabbitoh supporters.
In Other Games
The Bulldogs showed once again they do not have the firepower to score more than three tries. Or two in this case. The Cowboys 28 would have beaten the Dogs twice.
The ‘Phins returned to the winner’s circle coming back from a 10-0 deficit late in the first half. The Storm have now lost seven straight games since leading the Broncos 14-0 at halftime in game 3. They take on a Wests Tigers side that has yet to prove they can beat the big guns. Surely this is where the Storm break their drought.
Speaking of the Wests Tigers, they hadn’t beaten the Sharks at Shark Park in over a decade, and nothing changed this week with the Sharks mauling the Tiges 52-10. The red pen is out, and the Wests Tigers fairytale is over. No finals for you. Expect them to finish the season in their customary 9th position.
The Raiders and Wah’s showed up the Titans and Eels as non-event teams for 2026.
The Panthers did enough to hold onto victory against a spirited Seas Eagles side. 24 Standouts were on the line here.
This Round’s Results
This Round’s Stats
| Standouts Correct | 40 |
| Standouts Wrong | 9 |
| Round High Score | 12 – Runner, SMOG, The Creator (woohoo! it’s been a while) |
| Round Low Score | 1 – Panthers29, Lukebrooksbiggestfan, Yackas |
| Average Score | 3.9 |
| Biggest Mover | +13 – Runner |
| Biggest Drop | -18 – Panthers29 |
The Standout
Not a good week to select the Dogs, Bunnies or Tigers.
For the rest of us, 80% correct.
Tipster MLC is now on two in a row selecting the Cowboys.
Main Competition
The Creator has bolted into 2nd position with UpthePamfers holding onto the lead by 89 differential points.
Bart Simpson fittingly drops to 3rd for tipping the Sea Eagles (always the Sea Eagles). Bridie remains in 4th. While Chunka and Cruella swap $50 with $30.
Just a note, each week I post a preview and my selections BEFORE cut-off. You could do worse than to see what my thought process is for the round.
Bart Simpson Weekly Jackpot
Continuing on promoting the other articles posted during the week, if you downloaded the Weekly Stats and Ladder Predictor you would have seen all these Tipsters were in the running for the Bart Simpson Weekly Jackpot at the start of Sunday.
What you probably don’t realise, is that none of them could have won the jackpot as there were no unique tips remaining.
So, expect an enhancement in the Weekly Stats posts and downloads starting this week.
The Bart Simpson Weekly Jackpot is now B$20.
As always, good luck with your team and tipping this week.
Rob
The Creator
