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Yet more improvements from the experts in Round 3, with three of us snagging seven out of a possible eight points, and the other three netting six points.
If there was one surprise from the round, it’s perhaps that none of us managed the perfect round.
It was certainly a surprise for me, as I had picked the Bulls to beat the Sharks in another forum and promptly forgot about it for The Roar. Obviously the Sharks fault…
We did, however, manage a perfect run of powerplay picks, which is something. Certainly much better than Round 1, where we got none right.
For the record, Biltong, Elisha, and I managed 7, followed by Paddy, Digger, and Spiro on 6.
Biltong now leads outright, by one from Paddy and EP.
Biltongbek
Tips: Chiefs, Brumbies, Blues (PP), Waratahs, Bulls, Stormers.
“Amazing how easy this gets when it goes well, so I am going to ride this wave of success (could be luck of course) for as long as it will hold me.
“Chiefs too strong for the Highlanders, Brumbies will beat the Force and the Blues (PP) will win their first match of the season as I do not see any way for the Lions to take this one.
“Reds will try as they might, but the Waratahs to hit form and win. The next two is not so easy but I will go for the Bulls as they usually win in Bloemfontein, and the Stormers to sneak it at home against the Sharks.”
Elisha Pearce
Tips: Chiefs (PP), Brumbies, Blues, Waratahs, Cheetahs, Stormers.
“Have to run with the Chiefs at the moment – make that a walk-through; there’s no way I could run and keep up with those brutal first phase attacks. I’ll give them my powerplay though.
“The Brumbies will account for the Force at home, and the Blues will beat the Lions at their second home. (Btw, I’ve heard the shopping centre near North Harbour Stadium is quite good. Could that be used as a solid away team distraction for cashed-up young travellers?)
“An away side victory to the Waratahs, because Cheika will be flying high after reading my massive “puff piece” last weekend. Another South African derby double up: I’ll take the undefeated Stormers and Cheetahs so I can blame them when one loses.
“Interesting tid-bit: The Sharks have both the highest points for and points against so far.”
Brett McKay
Tips: Chiefs (PP), Brumbies, Blues, Waratahs, Bulls, Stormers.
Happy to be back in touch with the pack again, having started worse even than the Bulls. All games seem straightforward this week, which is immediately concerning, though.
Hard to see the Highlanders troubling the Chiefs, nor the Force troubling the Brumbies. Or the Lions troubling the Blues. I liked Biltong’s ploy last week of dropping the Powerplay upfront, so I’m all in on the Chiefs, too.
Despite some injury concerns, I think the Waratahs will still be too strong for the Reds, who remain in a holding pattern for another month yet, after the ARU/QRU verdict on Karmichael Hunt. If there’s one saving grace for Hunt, at least he hasn’t completely blown his career.
The Bulls loss to the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein last year was their first ever, so I’ll put that and the Cheetahs’ sightly lucky win down as anomalies and back the Bulls again. And someone can tell the Sharks that I’m not talking to them currently; Stormers at home, thanks.
Patrick Effeney
Tips: Chiefs (PP), Brumbies, Blues, Waratahs, Bulls, Stormers.
“The Chiefs are in hot form, so get my nod and my powerplay for the Friday afternoon game. The Force are on the way down a slippery slope, so I’m thinking the Brumbies by a few. The Lions and the Blues should be a cracker, which I think the Blues will get up in.
“The Reds are no chance against the Waratahs, though I still think it will be entertaining, and the Bulls should continue winning against the Cheetahs. Arguably the match of the round is the Stormers-Sharks, and I’ll go the home team in that one.”
Diggercane
Tips: Chiefs, Brumbies (PP), Blues, Waratahs, Bulls, Sharks.
“A tedious round awaits, with the table topping Hurricanes having a well-deserved break from hostilities, but I am sure we will all manage to suffer through the best of the rest.
“I expect the Chiefs to be too strong for the Highlanders in the Tron, while the Ponies will dispatch the lacklustre Force in Canberra. The Blues should begin to right their season against the Lions at home, while I am expecting the Tahs will have too much in the tank for the Reds, even in Brisbane.
“In the two South African derbies, I have decided on picking the away teams as I believe both the Bulls and Sharks will be more desperate than their intra-conference hosts. For my powerplay I have spun around a few times, kicked a beach ball, changed a light bulb, and decided to give the honour to the Brumbies.”
Spiro Zavos
Tips: Chiefs, Brumbies (PP), Blues, Waratahs, Bulls, Stormers.
“My big mistake last round was not picking the Bulls to win a home match and picking the Blues away from home. My dilemma this round is that the Bulls are playing the Cheetahs at Bloemfontein, an away match. I should not pick them to win except for the fact that the Cheetahs were singularly unimpressive in beating the Blues last week in a home match. So I am taking the Bulls.
“The Blues are playing the Lions at Auckland, in theory a home a match. But they are not playing this match at Eden Park. Despite this, I am taking the Blues on the grounds that the Lions rarely win in New Zealand and inside the Blues is a good side waiting to explode out.”
The summary
| Round 4 | Biltongbek | Diggercane | Patrick Effeney | Brett McKay | Elisha Pearce | Spiro Zavos |
| Overall | 16 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 14 |
| Last week | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| CHI v HIG | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs |
| BRU v FOR | Brumbies | Brumbies | Brumbies | Brumbies | Brumbies | Brumbies |
| BLU v LIO | Blues | Blues | Blues | Blues | Blues | Blues |
| RED v WAR | Waratahs | Waratahs | Waratahs | Waratahs | Waratahs | Waratahs |
| CHE v BUL | Bulls | Bulls | Bulls | Bulls | Cheetahs | Bulls |
| STO v SHA | Stormers | Sharks | Stormers | Stormers | Stormers | Stormers |
| POWERPLAY | Blues | Brumbies | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Brumbies |
| BYE | Hurricanes, Rebels, Crusaders |