Three rounds into the season and only two teams remain undefeated, with the Penrith Panthers and Parramatta Eels setting the pace.

The Panthers points differential of +54 should get a boost when they travel to the Northern Beaches to face the bottom-placed Sea Eagles to kick off Round 4 of the NRL on Thursday evening.

The Eels, meantime, will also start hot favourites when they face the Wests Tigers in an away match at Bankwest Stadium, with the home side to come in buoyed by their upset win over the Newcastle Knights on the road.

In other matches, we will also see the traditional Good Friday clash between Sydney rivals the Bulldogs and Rabbitohs, while in the evening we will also see another grand final rematch from yesteryear when 2006 combatants the Storm and Broncos face off in Melbourne.

The developing COVID-19 outbreak in Brisbane has forced the Broncos out of the sunshine state, and into a temporary Sydney hub where they will base themselves in between facing the Storm and the Rabbitohs next Thursday night.

The Sharks will fancy their chances of a second win for the season when they host the Cowboys on the Sunshine Coast, while the Titans host the Raiders on the Gold Coast in the other Saturday match.

Sunday sees a grudge match between the Knights and Dragons, with Tyson Frizell to come up against his old teammates for the first time, while the Chooks will look to pick up the pieces after a weekend of carnage when they face the Warriors at the SCG.

Here is your preview to Round 4.

Sea Eagles versus Panthers
A major mismatch and the threat of a points bloodbath kicks off Round 4 with the bottom-placed Sea Eagles needing to muster all they can if they are to cause an upset against the top-placed Penrith Panthers.

Despite having Des Hasler, Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans all at the one club together for the first time since their 2011 premiership triumph, the Silvertails have been the biggest disappointments of the early rounds, failing to notch a win from their first three starts.

The Sea Eagles suffered further embarrassment last Friday night when they were thrashed 38-12 by the Dragons in Wollongong, with Zac Lomax outscoring the entire Manly side on his own with 22 points from two tries and seven goals.

It extended their winless run in Wollongong to 18 years, the club’s last victory there coming in 2003.

Things will not get any easier for Des Hasler’s side when they welcome the top-placed Panthers to Lottoland this Thursday night.

Having started the season with consecutive shutout victories, the Panthers faced their first serious test of their premiership credentials against the Melbourne Storm last Thursday night, and emerged victors in what is already being dubbed one of the matches of the year.

Without co-captain Nathan Cleary, who was sidelined due to concussion, the mountain men had to come from behind to edge out the team that gave them a valuable lesson in last year’s grand final.

But the final minutes wasn’t without drama; leading 12-10 with a minute to play, Viliame Kikau won the game for his side when he somehow held up Justin Olam from scoring right at the death, the Panthers’ win exacting some revenge for last October’s grand final defeat.

With Cleary back on deck, expect the Panthers to run roughshod on Thursday night.

Prediction: Panthers by 24 points.

Bulldogs versus Rabbitohs
With full capacity crowds allowed in New South Wales once again, and with this match running concurrently alongside the Sydney Royal Easter Show, the annual Good Friday clash between the Bulldogs and Rabbitohs promises to be well-attended.

Just how much work Trent Barrett has on his hands was laid bare last Saturday night when the Bulldogs were blanked for the second week in a row; after being shut out by last year’s minor premiers the Penrith Panthers, they suffered the same fate against reigning wooden spooners the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium.

The struggles of both the Bulldogs and Broncos, which finished in the bottom two last year, was there for all to see when the two sides fought out a tryless first half before the boys from Belmore threw in the towel after halftime.

Any chances of a maiden win for the season may not be forthcoming when they face the South Sydney Rabbitohs on Friday afternoon.

The Bunnies are coming off a convincing 26-16 win over the Sydney Roosters, which may have seen them become the new premiership favourites after the Chooks suffered numerous injuries in that match.

Playing against his old side, Latrell Mitchell performed well, as did Cody Walker who scored two tries, the first off a Mitchell assist.

But if there is any hope among Bulldogs fans of an upset defeat, it’s that their side did manage to score an upset win over the men from Redfern in Round 19 last year, in a result that saw them offload the wooden spoon to the Broncos.

However, I cannot see a repeat happening on Friday afternoon and the Bunnies should make it three wins on the bounce.

Prediction: Rabbitohs by 18 points.

Storm versus Broncos
Following the Good Friday battle of the 2014 grand final combatants, we see a reprisal of the 2006 decider, from which no active players remain, between the Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos at AAMI Park.

Brisbane’s COVID-19 outbreak has prevented the Broncos from flying straight to Victoria, which has declared the sunshine capital a red zone meaning anyone from there would have to quarantine for a fortnight upon arrival into the AFL capital.

Instead, the Broncos will set up camp in Sydney and will do so until at least after their Round 5 clash against the Rabbitohs in Sydney, by which point it is hoped that the coronavirus situation in Brisbane will have improved by then.

It is interesting to note that ahead of the clash between reigning premiers and wooden spooners, it is the Broncos, which finished last for the first time in their history last season, who go in with the winning form, while the Storm have dropped their past two matches.

The northerners registered their first win under coach Kevin Walters with a 24-0 shutout victory over the Bulldogs, the win ending a 13-match losing streak which dated back to their previous victory, also against the Berries, in Round 9 last year.

This would give them some momentum and a reason to be optimistic against the Storm, but it is Craig Bellamy’s side that will go in as favourites, owing to their historic dominant record against the Broncos.

After beginning the season with a 26-18 win over the Rabbitohs at home, the southerners have lost their past two matches, albeit to the two teams that currently jointly share the competition lead in the Penrith Panthers and Parramatta Eels.

Against the Panthers at the foot of the mountains, the Storm started well, and were leading before conceding the try that resulted in them losing by just 12-10.

Justin Olam had the chance to win the match for his side right at the death, only to be denied by some desperate defence from Viliame Kikau who somehow held him up on the tryline as the siren blew for full-time.

It marked the first time in a while that the Storm had lost consecutive matches but you get the feeling that their losing run won’t last long.

With no AFL matches scheduled in Melbourne for Friday evening, the Storm will have the city to themselves and a bumper crowd both at AAMI Park and on television should tune in to see their team notch up win number two for the season.

Prediction: Storm by 22 points.

Sharks versus Cowboys
The first match on Saturday brings together a team badly battered by injury in the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, and a team that has yet to really get going in the North Queensland Cowboys, on neutral territory.

After winning their season opener against the Dragons, the Sharks were desperately unlucky in losing to the Canberra Raiders in Round 2, before a night of carnage saw them cop a 28-4 hiding at the hands of the Parramatta Eels at Bankwest Stadium.

John Morris’ side were forced to play the entire second half without an interchange bench after four players saw their match ended by halftime due to injuries; three of them to concussion and the other a knee injury to Sione Katoa.

While you could not fault their effort, the fact of the matter is that they were badly outclassed by a side that many expect to do well this season in the Eels, a club Morris played 92 games for between 2003 and 2006.

The men from the Shire will fancy their chances of a second win for the season when they come up against the winless Cowboys, who will surely get the balance of power in terms of support with this match to be played on the Sunshine Coast.

The Cowboys’ rough start under new coach Todd Payten continued when they were humiliated 44-8 by the Gold Coast Titans at home last Sunday night, the result seeing them sit in 14th place on the ladder, ahead of only the Bulldogs and Sea Eagles.

With Jason Taumalolo sidelined due to a hand injury, the last thing the men from Townsville would want is for their captain, Michael Morgan, to be forced into retirement due to a chronic shoulder injury.

Forward Josh McGuire was particularly frustrated at the side’s defeat to the Titans, saying that a losing culture has proven a burden on a side that had reached a grand final in 2017 with their co-captains, Matt Scott and Johnathan Thurston, both now retired, on the sidelines.

While the Cowboys should have a psychological edge by the fact that this match will be played in Queensland, I can’t see them breaking their duck this weekend; that being said, the Sharks, despite their injuries, should take the points.

Prediction: Sharks by 14 points.

Titans versus Raiders
The second of the two matches to be played in Queensland this round sees the Gold Coast Titans welcome the Canberra Raiders to the holiday strip in a genuine clash of the early-season performers.

After being soundly criticised for their poor Round 1 performance against the Warriors, the Titans have hit back in the past fortnight, claiming the scalps of their Queensland rivals, the Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys, in consecutive weeks.

Against the Cowboys, the Titans, so long a target of criticism and ridicule over their failure to perform to expectations since entering the NRL in 2007, racked up their highest ever score in a premiership match, scoring 44 points of which Jamal Fogarty contributed 16.

In the absence of halfback Ash Taylor, David Fifita dominated on the left-hand side as the Titans started to finally realise their potential under second-year coach Justin Holbrook, who exceeded expectations when he led the club to a ninth-placed finish last year.

They now face a Raiders side that is reeling following an embarrassing second-half collapse when they coughed up a 25-6 halftime lead against the New Zealand Warriors to lose 34-31 at GIO Stadium.

Things were going swimmingly for Ricky Stuart’s men until injuries conspired against them in the second half; further, Raiders fans were left fuming when it was revealed that the pass that led to the Warriors’ match-winning try was forward.

Behind 31-34 with seconds to play, Jordan Rapana thought he’d snatched the game for the Green Machine only for replays to show that he was dislodged of the ball by Warriors captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.

Despite the nature of their defeat, Stuart lauded his side for the fact they were able to hang in there after being reduced to 14 men after just 15 minutes of play.

While the Titans go into this match with the momentum and the good form, I still think the Raiders will complete a successful raid of the holiday strip and take the points.

Prediction: Raiders by six points.

Knights vs Dragons
After consecutive wins against likely non-finals teams in the Cowboys and Sea Eagles, the Dragons face a tough ask when they travel up the highway to face the Newcastle Knights in the first of the two Sunday matches.

Not helping their cause will be the absence of captain Ben Hunt, who was revealed to have played with a broken leg as the Dragons notched up their second win of the season against the Silvertails in Wollongong.

It was anchored by a 22-point haul by Zac Lomax, who equalled the club record for the most points in a match held by Amos Roberts, Jamie Soward and Gareth Widdop with his two tries and seven goals.

That followed on from a 25-18 win over the Cowboys in Townsville, which many believe could’ve been the firestarter in their season after a disappointing Round 1 loss to the Sharks at home.

Now, not only do they face the Knights in Newcastle, they’ll also be facing former teammate Tyson Frizell for the first time after he left the Dragons at the end of last season.

Frizell has been a solid performer for the Knights, who last week went down 24-20 to the Wests Tigers at home, spoiling the 300th game celebrations of former captain Mitchell Pearce.

It was a match they could have easily won, had it not been for inaccurate kicking at goal from Tex Hoy.

And while the Dragons may pose a genuine challenge even without their captain in Ben Hunt, the Knights should bounce back in front of their home fans.

Prediction: Knights by 14 points.

Roosters versus Warriors
With their premiership hopes all but dashed following a night of carnage against their bitter rivals last Friday night, the Roosters will look to salvage something from their season when they face the New Zealand Warriors at the SCG on Sunday.

Not only did the Chooks suffer a 26-16 defeat at the hands of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, they also lost playmaker Luke Keary for the season due to an ACL injury while Lachlan Lam and Lindsay Collins also failed to see out the match.

It only adds to a growing casualty ward at Bondi Junction, with both co-captains Boyd Cordner and Jake Friend, as well as Victor Radley, still sidelined and no closer to returning to the field.

All of a sudden, their two blowout victories over the Sea Eagles and Wests Tigers in the opening two rounds seem like a distant memory.

Meantime, the Warriors are buzzing following their stunning comeback win over the Raiders in the nation’s capital last Saturday, with the heroics of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck saving his side from what would’ve been a soul-crushing defeat at GIO Stadium.

Tuivasa-Sheck, soon to depart the club for a stint in rugby union, pulled out the tricks to knock the ball out of Jordan Rapana’s hands to secure his club their second win of the season.

The club has won praise for the way they are handling their current predicament, with a return home likely to be pushed back further due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation in Queensland, which has seen most states and territories shut their borders to the sunshine state.

While the Warriors may fancy themselves against the Roosters, I still think that despite their injury woes, Trent Robinson’s side should get the job done.

Prediction: Roosters by 12 points.

Wests Tigers versus Eels
The final match of Round 4 sees the return of the Easter Monday clash between the Wests Tigers and Parramatta Eels at Bankwest Stadium, which will indirectly mark two years since the first NRL game was played at the venue.

After two disappointing losses to start the season, the Tigers pulled a trick out of the hat to upset the Knights in Newcastle, winning 24-20 and reversing two heavy defeats to the Novocastrians from last season in the process.

It has put to bed some criticism over the club’s direction under third-year coach Michael Maguire, who has so far failed to take the club back to the promised land of finals in his time at Concord.

The real challenge for the Tigers will be to back it up when they face the Eels at Bankwest Stadium on Monday afternoon.

After just managing to get past the Broncos and Storm in their opening two matches, Brad Arthur’s side unleashed against the Sharks at home last Saturday night, winning 28-4 against a side that literally had no interchange bench in the second half.

The Eels’ win was anchored by a double from Blake Ferguson, while Maika Sivo continued to show why he is the king of Bankwest Stadium with another try.

Though it’s only early days, it was their best performance of the season and goes to show that they are seriously intent on breaking a 35-year premiership hoodoo, which has become a recurring joke among NRL circles.

And while it may be an away game for the Parramatta Eels this Monday, they should make themselves feel at home and show the Tigers just who is boss at Bankwest.

Prediction: Eels by 16 points.