The Roar's NRL expert tips and predictions: Round 11

Wasn’t last week fun? On the field, sure – it was a disaster in tipping though. The Roar’s NRL expert tipping is back, aiming for better results before the Origin period begins.

Apart from the fact we need to stop writing of Tim’s tipping ability as he claimed the second round in a row, it was a tough old week. Tim had five, which actually elevates him to third place. The Crowd and I had four, while Greg had three and Mary two.

Overall, The Crowd are still running away with 53, Greg sitting four points back on 49 while I’m on 45, Tim 44 and Mary 43.

Besides that though, we may well have witnessed the game of the season last week as the Titans scored two tries in the final six minutes to upset the Storm in a game which saw 13 tries and 74 points.

That wasn’t the only incredible game on the weekend. The Panthers came back from 28-6 down to beat the Warriors, the Broncos were blown off the park before overcoming Manly, before the Knights claimed their second win of the season against the Raiders.

The Cowboys also blasted the Bulldogs, the Sharks clinched a thriller against the Dragons while the Roosters and Rabbitohs recorded the two convincing wins of the weekend over the Eels and Tigers respectively.

With all that in the books, we look forward to the final full round before Origin de-rails the competition. The Sharks will open it up at home against the Cowboys before the Dragons try to reverse a failing form line across the ditch against the Warriors.

Mitchell Moses is now out of the picture for the Tigers, who will travel to Brisbane, before the Titans host the Sea Eagles and the Eels with Moses take on the Raiders.

A triple-header on Sunday will see the Knights battle for two straight against a Panthers side who have plenty to prove, the Bulldogs host the Roosters in a Sydney derby before the Rabbitohs head to Perth for a match against the Storm.

Don’t forget that on the form below, you can put your own tips in on behalf of The Crowd. We will have the results at 5pm (AEST), so be sure to have them in before then. Who knows, The Crowd might prove themselves to be better than the experts.

Tim will lead us away again this week, taking out two rounds in a row.

Tim Gore

Tips: Sharks, Warriors, Broncos, Titans, Raiders, Knights, Roosters, Storm

Cronulla Sharks vs North Queensland Cowboys
Sharks. At home, the Sharks won’t be jumped by the Cowboys like the Bulldogs were. This will be tight.

New Zealand Warriors vs St George Illawarra Dragons
Warriors. The Warriors only win at home and they are at home, desperate for a win. Mannering being out is a concern, but it is equalled by Widdop’s absence.

Brisbane Broncos vs Wests Tigers
Broncos. They are at home. The Tigers are without Moses. Broncos should win by a fair bit.

Gold Coast Titans vs Manly Sea Eagles
Titans. The Titans are at home and I have no better reason – oh and Turbo Tom is out.

Parramatta Eels vs Canberra Raiders
Raiders. No Corey Norman, the Raiders will be stinging from three losses on the trot, and their best player returns.

(AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)

Newcastle Knights vs Penrith Panthers
Knights. I can’t remember the last time the Knights won two in a row. Was it the first five games of 2015? The Panthers come back against a spineless Warriors papered over the cracks that they had fallen behind by 22. The Knights gathered strength from that win over the Raiders and they’ll be hungry for more.

Canterbury Bulldogs vs Sydney Roosters
Roosters. How bad were the Bulldogs last week? Insipid is being nice. The Roosters hit some good form and it should continue here.

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Melbourne Storm
Storm. They’ll be angry for losing at the death to the Titans and the Rabbits just don’t have what it takes to counter that.

Greg Prichard

Tips: Sharks, Warriors, Broncos, Titans, Raiders, Panthers, Roosters, Storm

Cronulla Sharks vs North Queensland Cowboys
Sharks. They’re getting dragged into the contest at the moment, but out of three tight ones in a row they’ve still won two of them. Banking on them to get the job done at home.

New Zealand Warriors vs St George Illawarra Dragons
Warriors. If the Warriors are capable of being embarrassed by their performance, then surely this is one of those weeks when they are. Hopefully they’ll respond with a big effort.

Brisbane Broncos vs Wests Tigers
Broncos. The Tigers are not the sort of team you can be tipping with any confidence to beat the Broncos in Brisbane at the moment. Enough said.

Gold Coast Titans vs Manly Sea Eagles
Titans. They have improved dramatically since they got some key players back from injury and that was a terrific win over the Storm. Tom Trbojevic out is a big loss for the Sea Eagles.

(AAP Image/Brendan Esposito)

Parramatta Eels vs Canberra Raiders
Raiders. Not sure what to make of them. They still haven’t reproduced their form from the second half of last season. I might be making a mistake tipping them, but there, it’s done.

Newcastle Knights vs Penrith Panthers
Panthers. It would be great if they could stick two halves (of the 40-minute variety, not sixes and sevens) together in the one game. They will here though.

Canterbury Bulldogs vs Sydney Roosters
Roosters. Minus Josh Reynolds, the Bulldogs were without spark against the Cowboys. The Roosters are surely going to have too many points in them for the Bulldogs to match.

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Melbourne Storm
Storm. The Rabbitohs gave it to the Tigers last week, but the Tigers didn’t turn up. The Storm lost a very competitive game against the Titans, but they rarely lose two in a row.

Mary Konstantopoulos

Tips: Cowboys, Dragons, Broncos, Titans, Eels, Knights, Roosters, Storm

Cronulla Sharks vs North Queensland Cowboys
Cowboys. The thing about the Sharks this year is that they have not been playing their best football. Despite that they keep finding a way to win. This game will be closer than people think, but I’m tipping the Cowboys who could be boosted by the potential return of Johnathan Thurston and Kalyn Ponga.

(AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

New Zealand Warriors vs St George Illawarra Dragons
Dragons. I’m never tipping the Warriors again after their awful performance last weekend. Despite a tough loss to the Sharks, even without Gareth Widdop the Dragons have shown that they can match it with the top teams in the competition.

Brisbane Broncos vs Wests Tigers
Broncos. One of the big problems at the moment for the Wests Tigers is attitude. I didn’t like what I saw from Mitch Moses or James Tedesco last weekend, who had 13 missed tackles between them. Moses might be gone but the Tigers face a massive test against an in-form Brisbane this week. It’s a test they won’t be up for.

Gold Coast Titans vs Manly Sea Eagles
Titans. The game of the round. The Titans have been tough and gritty every week and coupled with the strong work in attack from Ash Taylor last week, it got them home against the Storm. I’m tipping them this week in a close one, with Manly to feel the loss of Tom Trbojevic.

Parramatta Eels vs Canberra Raiders
Eels. The Raiders don’t seem to have found their groove yet and despite the Eels getting thrashed last weekend against the Roosters, I don’t expect to see them get towelled up twice in a row. Beau Scott returns which will help the defence and Mitch Moses makes his debut to replace the injured Corey Norman.

Newcastle Knights vs Penrith Panthers
Knights. I’m tipping the upset here because this is a game the Knights can win. The Warriors switched off in the second half last week and the Panthers ran them ragged. Everyone loves a miracle, right? My miracle this week is the Knights going 2 in a row.

Canterbury Bulldogs vs Sydney Roosters
Roosters. After the way the Bulldogs played last week I can’t possibly tip them. The opposite is true about the Roosters. With Mitch Pearce still looking to prove that he deserves another Origin berth, it should be a big win.

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Melbourne Storm
Storm. I very nearly went the Rabbitohs here because they have a tremendous record in Perth. Had it been against any other team, then I might have. Despite a loss against the Titans last week, the Storm proved why they should be premiership favourites at this point of the season.

Scott Pryde

Tips: Sharks, Dragons, Tigers, Titans, Raiders, Panthers, Roosters, Storm

Cronulla Sharks vs North Queensland Cowboys
Sharks. The Cowboys got the Bulldogs last week and looked a lot better with Lachlan Coote and Jake Granville back, but getting over the defensively strong Sharks without, or with a rushed back and underdone Johnathan Thurston will be a bridge too far.

New Zealand Warriors vs St George Illawarra Dragons
Dragons. The Warriors are about as consistent as New South Wales Blues team predictions and their second-half effort last week was a downright disgrace. The Dragons have to turn their form line around as well, with the club starting to slip a fraction.

(AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)

Brisbane Broncos vs Wests Tigers
Tigers. I know. Crazy right? But with no Mitchell Moses anymore, who has hurt them more than he has helped them this year the Tigers should be better. The Broncos were blown off the park early against Manly last week as well and the same could happen here.

Gold Coast Titans vs Manly Sea Eagles
Titans. This club just don’t understand the meaning of no. They racked up 38 points last week in a game unlikely to be beaten for match of the season, scoring two tries in the last six minutes. That was against Melbourne of all teams. With no Tom Trbojevic, Manly might be up the creek without a paddle here.

Parramatta Eels vs Canberra Raiders
Raiders. Corey Norman is out and Canberra were embarrassed by the Knights last week. They won’t be caught out twice in a row.

Newcastle Knights vs Penrith Panthers
Panthers. Penrith must build on their second half effort last week. A loss here and they can kiss the finals goodbye, even though we are only in Round 11. Newcastle will fight hard, but they won’t make it two in a row.

Canterbury Bulldogs vs Sydney Roosters
Roosters. The Bulldogs are all over the place and with Mitchell Pearce and Luke Keary firing in a final hit-out before Origin, this could be a cricket score.

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Melbourne Storm
Storm. The chance of Craig Bellamy’s men losing two straight is the same as me climbing Mount Everest tomorrow. It’s not going to happen, even though South Sydney come into this off a win.

Now it’s your turn to try and beat the experts. Using the form below, select your tips for the weekend ahead and we will have the results at 5pm (AEST) this afternoon.