NRL tips with The Thinker

• Round thirteen selections
• Current NRL ladder
• NRL tips with Wally Lewis
• Season stats for The Thinker
• Season stats for Wally Lewis
• Season predictions for The Thinker

Who is “The Thinker”?

Born under and raised by goal posts at Redcliffe's Dolphin Oval, “The Thinker” was always expected to take a keen interest in the great game of rugby league. As a young tyke he was an outstanding football talent. Fame and fortune beckoned but things would soon go tragically awry.

In 1983 he received a copy of the Guinness Book of World Records as a birthday gift. Later that day he attempted to break the endurance record for plate-spinning. Some thirteen minutes into his attempt, and just nine days short of the record, “The Thinker” was struck down with what we now know as a repetitive strain injury to both wrists. He never passed a football again.

Following this tragic injury his life became a series of mis-steps, until early this century when he stumbled across a faded maroon cap in a local Salvation Army store. This cap bore an uncanny resemblance to the one worn by the great Arthur Beetson when he coached the 1989 Queensland State of Origin side. In an astonishing turn of events, a routine analysis of the cap proved it was nothing of the sort.

Undeterred and needing a hat, he soon found that with cap donned he was able to predict NRL matches with stunning clarity. This clarity...or gift if you will...is shared with you all below.

Wally Lewis - round thirteen selections (in bold)

• Sharks vs BRONCOS
• Eels vs DRAGONS
• TITANS vs Panthers
• Roosters vs WARRIORS
• Bulldogs vs SEA EAGLES
• Raiders vs COWBOYS
• Rabbitohs vs STORM
• TIGERS vs Knights

NRL round thirteen selections from The Thinker

Cronulla Sharks vs Brisbane Broncos - Friday night - Toyota Stadium

All things being equal I’d be tipping the Sharks in this, but with Luke Douglas and Josh Cordoba joining Jeremy Smith, Nathan Gardner and Albert Kelly on the injury list the Broncos have an opportunity to return to form. Lockyer and Thaiday return after their post-Origin rest and Josh Hoffman is back to bolster the backline.  The Broncos by 1-12 at $3.10 or thereabouts looks tempting to my eye.

Verdict - Broncos

Result - Broncos

Parramatta Eels vs St George Illawarra Dragons - Friday night - Parramatta Stadium

These sides met just five weeks ago when the Dragons recorded a comfortable 30-0 victory. The NRL is renowned for its stunning form reversals, but little has happened in the last five weeks to convince me the result will be vastly different on Friday night. Granted Jarryd Hayne didn’t play five weeks ago, but neither did Darius Boyd. Pocket kings vs. pocket aces – and the Dragons will jag another ace on the flop (forgive the poker analogy – I’ve got a card game on Saturday night). Dragons...I’m all in.

Verdict - Dragons

Result - Draw

Gold Coast Titans vs Penrith Panthers - Saturday night - Skilled Park

If the Titans want to scrape into the top eight they need to win at least nine of their remaining 13 games this season. Those 13 games include away matches against the Dragons, Warriors, Broncos and Tigers and home games against the Cowboys and Storm. Sheesh! I can barely see them winning this, but I’m giving them one more chance. The Panthers have won just one game away from home this year (against Parramatta) and they are backing up from Monday night. The Titans might have been dominated on the scoreboard last Friday but that didn’t tell the whole story (they only scored once, but they crossed the tryline eight times). If they do win they won’t win by much, as they’re averaging less than 16 points per game. They are better than that. Surely they are better than that. One more chance.

Verdict - Titans

Result - Panthers

Sydney Roosters vs New Zealand Warriors - Saturday night - Sydney Football Stadium

The Roosters had a ‘truth session’ during the week, hoping to resurrect their 2011 campaign. Frustrated fans will be pleased to know they have found the answer – the Roosters will wear matching polo shirts to the game. Only at Bondi would they think to turn to the fashion industry to sort out their troubles on the field. Okay I admit it; they came up with other things as well (don’t hate me Roosters fan – I’m a chicken fanatic from way back). Hopefully one of the things they stumbled across was this – in their last seven games they have averaged just nine points. This is the same team that, in their run into the grand final last season, were averaging more than 26 points per game. Show them some videos Brian Smith, and hold back on the free shirts until they are winning again. The Warriors have averaged nearly 20 points a game this season, and their defence is arguably the best it’s ever been. I can’t see the chickens breaking them down on exposed form.

Verdict - Warriors

Result - Roosters

Canterbury Bulldogs vs Manly Sea Eagles - Saturday night - ANZ Stadium

You might want to keep an eye out for late team changes in this game – Manly have named Jason King and George Rose as prop forwards, and both are in some doubt. Brent Kite is already unavailable due to injury, and they can’t afford to lose any more of their big boppers. That said, Manly just keep winning, and on the rare occasions they do lose the margins have been narrow. The Bulldogs are in the top eight for now but they are yet to beat one of the really good sides this season. Manly are looking like a really good side, and Anthony Watmough wants a Blues jersey.

Verdict - Sea Eagles

Result - Sea Eagles

Canberra Raiders vs North Queensland Cowboys - Sunday afternoon - Canberra Stadium

The Cowboys don’t like Canberra and their record in the capital (two wins from 13 attempts) doesn’t make for pleasant reading. Luckily for them they have jagged a daytime start this weekend which means they can thaw out during the warm-up drills. A few other things have me concerned about this game – the Cowboys don’t play a lot of daytime footy (only one game so far in 2011 and in 2010 they didn’t play any) and the injury to Willie Tonga does limit their attack. Gavin Cooper slots into the backline and he’s a great clubman but he’s no Willie Tonga. The Cowboys did lose their only daytime game this season, but it was to the Dragons. The Cowboys would have beaten every other team in the competition by twenty points that day. I’ve changed my mind several times in this game, but it’s the weather bureau that has forced my hand. Forecast for Canberra on Sunday – strong westerly winds, possible showers; Max – 13 degrees. Wind chill factor brings it back to single digits. Brrrr!

Verdict - Raiders

Result - Cowboys

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Melbourne Storm - Sunday afternoon - ANZ Stadium

There’s a little bit of talk about Inglis having a big game before the Queensland side is announced for State of Origin 2. But let’s be honest, Greg Inglis is going to be named for State of Origin 2 regardless of what he does on Sunday afternoon. He’ll need the run I suspect. The Storm haven’t had to do too much travelling this season (this will be just their fourth away game). This means they’ve got plenty of travel in front of them this year, so I wouldn’t be pencilling them in for a top four finish just yet. A full-strength Bunnies outfit would be in this game up to their big floppy ears, and I still give them a sneaky hope. Melbourne aren't firing on all cylinders at the moment, but they remain the sensible selection.

Verdict - Storm

Result - Storm

Wests Tigers vs Newcastle Knights - Monday night - Leichhardt Oval

I was casting my eye over the list of Tigers returning from injury for this game - Gareth Ellis, Keith Galloway, Wade McKinnon and Lote Tuqiri. That quartet could give the Knights a run for their money on their own. Given that foursome will have 13 team-mates to help them out, and two of those are Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah, I suspect the Tigers might be too strong. The Knights have been pretty good this season, but the season-ending injury to Jarrod Mullen leaves them with a very limited kicking game. Despite their disappointing season thus far the Tigers are still in the top eight. A win here widens the gap between them and the teams in the bottom half of the ladder.

Verdict - Tigers

Current NRL Ladder

Season statistics (2011)*

• The Thinker - 58.5 out of 95 - (61.6% winning strike rate)
• Wally Lewis - 59.5 out of 95 - (62.6% winning strike rate)

* selections for representative games are not included in season statistics.

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