Here we go with another round of throwing darts at the board, hoping to come up with correct tips.

For most NRL tipsters, their success rate is hovering either side of 50%, if they’re lucky, in the opening two rounds as upsets galore have made accurate selection a nightmare for all concerned.

A coin toss would have been better for many of us rather than actually putting thought into predictions.

Round 3 tosses up several matches that could go down to the wire. But if the first fortnight of the season is any guide, it will again feature some surprise results.

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Premiers Penrith are in the rare position of being underdogs for their trip to Melbourne without star fullback Dylan Edwards. And after their boilover defeat last week to the Roosters, they could be 1-2 after three rounds to start their campaign for a fifth straight title.

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Here’s how the experts see the second weekend of Round 3 unfolding.

Stuart Thomas

Storm, Warriors, Broncos, Sharks, Dolphins, Titans, Bulldogs, Sea Eagles

Panthers losing two in a row? Doubtful. Storm off a bye? Goodness me, who knows. Bellamy might be the difference here, knowing just how to prepare a team off the break. The Warriors will hammer the Roosters in New Zealand, the Chooks gave all they had last week and will have little left in the tank.

The Broncos need a win to shut certain people up and the Cows look a little unpredictable. Madge should be able to yell enough through the week to ride this one home. Sharks to beat the Rabbits and looking more and more like a top four team in 2025.

Dolphins and Tigers will be a cracker. The Northerners look too safe for me and the Tigers buoyant off the back of a win. The home side in a close one. Titans and Knights could go either way and how many points do I get if I pick a draw? Titans in golden point.

Dogs on fire early and Parramatta hopeless last week. This is a banana skin game for Canterbury. Could they bugger it up? They could, but won’t. The Sea Eagles face the in form Raiders to end the round and only fortress Brookie will enable them to get home. A really close and high scoring affair with the Sea Eagles dominating the final 15 minutes.

Sunia Turuva celebrates scoring a try. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

Nick Wasiliev

Storm, Warriors, Broncos, Sharks, Dolphins, Titans, Bulldogs, Sea Eagles

Well, it’s that time again. The Storm are always a tough side to beat at home, and with only minimal changes to the side that’s going to be double the case. Panthers should be hungry after last weeks’ loss but this is a tough place to win at the best of times.

It appears being at home is doing the Warriors a hell of a lot of good. The Chooks are welcoming some big guns back but consistency is kind, and with the Warriors fielding an unchanged side I back the Auckland crowd to get them home.

That blew up in Todd Payten’s face didn’t it? Ah well, credit the bloke for trying something, but it does speak to the imbalance of his squad right now. Broncos should win this easily.

Both the Sharks and Bunnies are welcoming folks back, and while I can see the Bennett factor sneaking in after their win over the Dragons, the Sharks are a different prospect in the Shire.

No. No. No! I’ve fallen for this before. Good job Benji for last week and putting a smile on my face. Do it again, and then we’ll talk.

Going on a whim here and backing the Titans. Des Hasler’s men started the season slowly last year, but I think they will come good and get their first win either this weekend or the next. I back them to do the former at home this weekend – even though the Knights have had a good start to the year.

Said before and will say it again – I have a good feeling about the Dogs this year. How funny that if Josh Addo-Carr starts this weekend it’ll be against his former club!

Raiders in the berra, they win. Raiders away from home, they lose. That’s how that goes right? Also, with Manly bringing Tom Trbojevic and Daly Cherry-Evans back in the hosts will have more wind in their sails.

Mary Konstantopoulos

Melbourne, Roosters, Broncos, Sharks, Wests Tigers, Knights, Bulldogs, Raiders

I have a few tipping rules that usually serve me well, but this week they are all coming into conflict with each other. I generally don’t tip against either Melbourne or Penrith but am forced to. I’m tipping Melbourne, who will be well rested after the bye, chomping at the bit after demolishing Parramatta and eager for payback following the Grand Final last year. It’s hard for me to comprehend a world where the Panthers lose two in a row, but given the out of Dylan Edwards, it may just be enough for the Storm to get the edge. 

The next game is tough to tip too with both teams proving why we shouldn’t have written them off after Round 1 with huge wins in Round 2. I’m picking the Roosters given the inclusions this week which will only help provide more experience around the younger players who shone so brightly last week. The Roosters forward pack is much improved this week and I’m looking forward to the battle between Spencer Leniu and James Fisher-Harris.

The Broncos will beat the Cowboys, who have been embarrassing and the Sharks will beat the Bunnies. What is more crucial in this game is how the Bunnies muscle up against tougher opposition after two very spirited wins against lesser opposition. I’m looking forward to the match up.

I usually never tip the tip the Tigers, so here I am breaking rules again. But they had a performance against Parramatta which will give them some confidence and some of the basic attacking structures they ran actually worked. The Dolphins have been uninspiring so I’m going with a Tigers win.

The Knights will beat the Raiders and the Bulldogs will beat the Eels.

The last game is one I’m looking forward to. The Raiders have been very impressive in the opening rounds so I’m tipping the upset. 

Paul Suttor

Storm, Warriors, Broncos, Sharks, Tigers, Knights, Bulldogs, Manly

Melbourne are at full strength. The Panthers will definitely not roll over for them but will go down in a close one.

The Warriors and Roosters each revived their season after Round 1 routs. The home side to get up this time around.

Brisbane are hot and cold, the Cowboys are freezing while Cronulla will have too much class for Wayne Bennett’s upstarts.

The Dolphins have been disappointing so won’t be tipped by me again until they win. Tigers by 4.

The Knights are starting to earn their stripes as playoff contenders so they should crush the Titans. The Gold Coast didn’t throw much at all at Canterbury last week.

Canterbury are humming along nicely but Parra have been all out sea while Manly will surely be too strong for the Green Machine which is motoring along above its capacity.

Izack Tago is tackled. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

AJ Mithen

Panthers, Roosters, Broncos, Sharks, Tigers, Titans, Bulldogs, Raiders

Folks, I could supply you with the rock solid rationale behind these successful tips, but that would be giving my intel away for free. These teams will win because they’re better than their opposition, and your presumptive champions, the people’s team, the Canberra Raiders will continue their domination by heading to Brookvale and laying a most casual 56 on their beleaguered hosts. 

Mike Meehall Wood

Melbourne, Roosters, Broncos, Sharks, Dolphins, Titans, Dogs, Manly

It’s always dumb to tip against the Panthers, but after their mediocre showing against Easts and the Storm getting a weekend off, it’s got to be Melbourne at home.

It’ll make me feel better about Manly being rubbish if the Wahs turn out to be good. The Chooks, however, have won 8 in a row against New Zealand, so I’ll be taking them to get the points in Auckland.

Brisbane were bad against Canberra and, in general, are not as good as people suggested. They are, however, lightyears better than this Cowboys team and will towel them up on home turf.

Souths are fools gold, Cronulla are not. Easy win for the Sharkies.

Fun as it would be to tip the Tigers (Hi, Nick!), they are largely incapable of stringing results together. The Phins have underwhelmed, but without the cyclone distractions, they should be fired up for this.

Newcastle aren’t quite a one man team…but they’re not far off it. The Titans goalline defence was disgraceful last week (what’s new?) but they have points aplenty, so I’ll tip them for the upset.

Based on the first two rounds, Parra are the worst team in the NRL this year – Canterbury are undermanned but will still have far too much.

My Beaches Boys will round out the weekend with a win – though helped by a long turnaround to keep DCE and Turbo from missing a week. Canberra’s start has been great but surely they can’t continue it…I’ll take my boys to get the job done.

David Shilovsky

Storm, Roosters, Broncos, Sharks, Dolphins, Knights, Bulldogs, Manly

Melbourne were great in Round 1, and with all their stars available should win the grand final rematch. Trent Robinson gets a much-needed boost with some big boppers returning and they’ll be full of confidence after the Penrith boilover.

Pressure could really ramp up on Todd Payten if his Cowboys lose in ugly fashion to the star-studded Broncos, and it’s a real possibility. The plucky Bunnies have shown character to sit pretty with a 2-0 record but expect the Sharks to give them a reality check.

Kristian Woolf is yet to win a game as an NRL head coach but Saturday’s clash with Wests is his best opportunity yet. Marshall’s side showed glimpses of quality last time out in the win over Parramatta, but they are far from the finished product. Newcastle travel to the Gold Coast with Kalyn Ponga and Fletcher Sharpe likely to do damage against the Titans’ questionable defence.

The Bulldogs should beat the Eels handily after Parramatta’s awful start without talisman Mitch Moses, then Manly to get the job done over Canberra in the late game.