The first two rounds of the competition have thrown up some huge upsets with Newcastle and the West Tigers shocking some of the marquee clubs.
Round 3 starts with a rematch of the 2017 grand final with the Cowboys travelling to Melbourne to take on the Storm. The Broncos will be wary of another upset as they take on the Tigers in Campbelltown.
The potential match of the round sees Mitchell Pearce clash with his former side the Sydney Roosters . Pearce will have a point to prove as he comes up against Cooper Cronk, the man that replaced him at the Roosters.
The Storm will be filthy with their performance in the round two loss to the West Tigers, the premiers were sloppy in a shock two-point loss. Craig Bellamy’s men only have themselves to blame, with the side making 15 handling errors in a tight loss and Billy Slater having a night to forget in his 300th NRL appearance.
The Cowboys were denied by the post against the Broncos in Brisbane and will be wanting to end up on the right side of the ledger against the premiers. Jonathan Thurston reminded the competition of his brilliance, orchestrating a magnificent comeback against Brisbane after his side dominated the early stages.
While the Cowboys have shown the ability to string together wins on the road, a trip to AAMI Park may be beyond them this early in the season. Michael Morgan could come back into the side to take the pressure off Thurston, but the Storm rarely drop back to back games at home.
Cameron Smith will be wanting to get an early psychological boost against a side that the Storm will meet again in the finals.
The Bulldogs were tipped to be one of the real movers and shakers of the competition, with their acquisitions of Aaron Woods and Kieran Foran. Canterbury have conceded 66-points in their opening two weeks of the competition and new coach Dean Pay is struggling to find answers to his side’s lethargic performance.
At the other end of the scale, the Panthers sit near the top of the NRL summit with back to back wins in their first two games. The Panthers win against Souths was soured by the news that prop Sam McKendry’s suffered a season-ending knee injury.
The Panthers may look to tweak their line-up and start with Tyrone Peachy after his match-winning effort against Souths. If the Panthers can eliminate the handling errors that plagued them in their first-half performance against the Rabbitohs then they’ll start this match as justifiable favourites
After a poor performance in the opening round loss to the Dragons, the Broncos were happy to get the points against the Cowboys in the local derby. The Broncos had some luck against the Cowboys and will be wary of falling victim to the West Tigers.
The Tigers showed that their first-round win over the Roosters wasn’t a fluke with a victory over the Storm. Tipped to fight it out for the wooden spoon with the Titans, the Tigers are every chance of causing another boilover. Benji Marshall will be out for another big performance against his old side and the Tigers forward pack are firing.
If the Tigers get their noses in front early, then the Broncos will face a tough time in Campbelltown. This clash has the ingredients for another upset and the Tigers have shown that they are good enough to compete with the marquee clubs in 2018.
The Raiders are potentially staring at a 0-3 start to the season and coach Ricky Stuart could find himself under some real pressure.
The Green Machine have struggled for rhythm and consistency with losses to the Titans and Newcastle. The Raiders have also added Joey Leilua and Charlie Gubb to a growing injury list that threatens to derail their season before it begins.
With an 85% completion rate, you have to feel the Raiders are not far away from their first win, but their defence remains a real concern. The Raiders have conceded another 30 points against the Knights after doing the same in round one.
The Warriors have enjoyed a fresh start in 2018, with half Blake Green taking the pressure of Shaun Johnson. The Warriors were at their brilliant best at home against the Titans and if they can repeat the performance against the Raiders, then they’ll be hard to stop in 2018.
The Sea Eagles were outstanding in their demolition of arch-rivals Parramatta in their last start at Brookvale. Dale Cherry Evans has found his running game and looks like he could be in line for an Origin recall if he can continue his red-hot form.
The Rabbitohs struggled in their opening two rounds and Greg Inglis is struggling to fire in his return to the NRL. Rabbitohs coach Anthony Seibold is still looking for his first win and he may have to wait another week, with Manly playing like premiership contenders.
The Sea Eagles are strong favourites after their performance against the Eels and it’ll be hard to look past them when they are in this type of form early in the competition.
Parramatta are a team under siege after being trounced by the Sea Eagles in the second round.
Brad Arthur will be searching for answers as his side leaked in nine tries against Manly. The paper-thin defence and lack of energy on the field over the opening two rounds are worrying signs for a side touted by many to make the top four this season. Jarryd Hayne has been a passenger and Corey Norman has been ineffective over the opening two rounds of the season.
Sharks coach Shane Flanagan has struggled to accommodate Matt Moylan and Josh Dugan in his side. On paper, Cronulla have some world-class talent at their disposal and a win against the Eels would go a long way to restoring the confidence to some of their stars.
Josh Valentine is feeling the heat after a shift from fullback to wing and Matt Moylan has struggled with Cronulla’s style of play. This is a fixture that could see the Shark’s combination finally click and they’re good value from a betting perspective to get the jump on one of their Sydney rivals.
The Titans showed some heart over the first two rounds and they simply won’t be pushed into accepting the wooden spoon.
The Gold Coast will need to get Ash Taylor back on deck for their clash with the Dragons. The Titans missed the leadership of their gun halfback in the loss to the Warriors and they may find life tough against the Dragons without him.
The Dragons will take some confidence after starting with two wins and Bent Hunt is proving his value with two big performances. The addition of Hunt has taken the pressure off St George five-eighth Gareth Widdop and the Dragons will be challenging for a top-four berth on current form.
St George will want to continue their winning start to the season with a dominating display against the Titans and they should be winning this clash with ease.
The Newcastle renaissance has continued for another round and now Mitchell Pearce faces his first real test of the season, coming up against his former side. The former Sydney Roosters halfback will be eager to make a point to the side that ditched him for Cooper Cronk.
Pearce will be able to put his knowledge of the Roosters inner sanctum to good use to give his new teammates a leg up against one of the premiership favourites. Kalyn Ponga will be wanting another big performance, coming up against opposite number James Tedesco.
The Roosters will be happy to finally get on the board with a win but will be wary of Newcastle’s early season improvement. Cooper Cronk has a history with Mitchell Pearce, with the Sydney Roosters number seven dominating against Pearce at Origin level. If Pearce can handle the big occasion, then there’s some value in the Knights pulling the rug out from under the Roosters.