This should tell you how little attention I pay to my tipping after I submit the sheet on Thursday morning.

I thought I’d picked the Tigers…

It turned out I’d picked the Warriors.

And I thought for sure I’d picked the Titans on Saturday night…

I picked the Raiders.

So I’ve got no idea how, but I wound up with 5/8, when the Random Picks were on 3/8.

I think it’s because I looked at the betting odds instead of actually remembering what I’d written down, then I’ve submitted them and focused on something else….

Then the game starts and I realise what I’ve done.

Cronulla Sharks 36 defeated St George-Illawarra Dragons 12 = Correct

When I got a glimpse of a few replays and saw how heavy the rain was, I remembered an old saying…

You should never underestimate a Shark when he is in trouble…

Especially when he is underwater.

New Zealand Warriors 16 defeated Wests Tigers 12 – In/correct

I’d say the Tigers are now deliberately tanking to get rid of Madge, but I’m not actually sure that they can play any better than the crap they dished up on Friday night, so much so that the poor bastard was sitting in the coaches box on the verge of tears, probably because he knows what’s waiting for him in the not too distant future….

A payout and a holiday.

So well done to the Warriors on actually winning a game this year, and in fact, well done to the judges dishing out the Dally M votes for this game for actually finding 3 players worthy of votes, because quite honestly I couldn’t find 1.

South Sydney Rabbitohs 28 defeated Sydney Roosters 16 – Incorrect

Define irony: James Tedesco, a meathead who made a racist slur about Squid Game, witnessed his team get plastered in Multicultural Round by their eternal rivals.

If that’s not irony, then I’m probably a moron.

Penrith Panthers 38 defeated Newcastle Knights 20 – Correct

A dog day out for the Knights, as Mitch Barnett got sent off just after the half hour mark for a cheapshot to the head of Chris Smith off the ball, which pretty much doomed the Knights for the remainder of the afternoon when they were right in the game:

But that wasn’t even the strangest part of the afternoon, because only a couple of minutes earlier, Kurt Mann was ordered off to undergo a HIA by the Bunker.

The only problem was, he hadn’t been hit in the head.

He’d been kicked in the nuts while tackling Scott Sorensen:

So in actuality, he’d been ordered to undergo a LHIA…

A Little Head Injury Assessment.

Parramatta Eels 28 defeated Melbourne Storm 24 – Incorrect

Ray Stone gave us one of the greatest season-ending moments ever seen.

For context, last week he gave away a dumb penalty late in the game that led to the Sharks winning the game after the final siren.

This week, he managed to falcon the ball into Nelson Asofa-Solomona’s head to score a try and to put the Eels up 22-18 with 8 minutes to go, before the game went to Golden Point.

Then in sudden death, Mitch Moses tries a field goal that hits the left upright, Stone was the only bugger smart enough to stay onside for the kick chase, he fielded the ball and scored the winning try….

And in the process, he tore his ACL while rounding Jahrome Hughes, in what was another non-contact ACL injury, meaning his year’s done and he won’t play for Parramatta again, because he’s off to Redcliffe in 2023.

But, the important part was, he went down like a goddamn hero.

Canberra Raiders 24 defeated Gold Coast Titans 22 – In/correct

At 22-0 up, the Titans really should be finishing that game off if they want to be taken seriously as a Top 8 contender.

Instead, you’ve out-Canberra Faders the original Canberra Faders….

In fact, I think the Raiders may have had a plant in the Titans’ coaching setup, feeding information through to his great mate Sticky Ricky:

Ugh, imagine if the Titans could play 2 halves….

Conversely, imagine if the Raiders could play 2 halves!

North Queensland Cowboys 38 defeated Brisbane Broncos 12 – Incorrect

An absolute romp for the Cowboys in the QLD Derby, in what would have to be their best on-field display in at least 3 years, as Jeremiah Nanai led the way with a hat-trick in only his seventh career game, the Cowboys forward pack absolutely flattened their Bronx counterparts, and Cowboys captain Jason Taumalolo proved how good of a leader he is by selflessly feeding Griffin Neame through a hole to score his maiden NRL try just before half-time.

In fact, here’s a glimpse of what JT said to young Griff in the rooms:

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to go and see how I can continue to sell the Cowboys short, even though they’re effectively 3cm away from being 3-0 after 3 games.

Manly Sea Eagles 13 defeated Canterbury Bulldogs 12 – Correct

ONE FOR THE COINCIDENCE FILE:

Manly’s first win in 2021 was thanks to a field goal from Daly Cherry-Evans to win the game 13-12.

Manly’s first win in 2022 was thanks to a field goal from Daly Cherry-Evans to win the game 13-12.