Redcliffe Dolphins vs Manly Sea Eagles – Thursday night – Suncorp Stadium

The Dolphins have only left Queensland once all season, and that was a trip to Darwin. Incredibly, their first visit to NSW doesn't take place until round 15. Mind you, their record at Suncorp Stadium (aka the other home ground) hasn't been flash this year. A few handy returns for Thursday night help their cause, with Farnworth a timely return to replace the injured Niu in the centres, and Kenny Bromwich back following concussion protocols. For the Sea Eagles, Ben Trbojevic returns in the second row, while Croker (concussion) and Brown (hip injury) drop out of the seventeen. Croker is a big out, given the workload he carries in defence. This year the Sea Eagles have regularly jumped out of the gates, only to let opponents back into games. If the Sea Eagles are tiring late in each half, the Dolphins have enough tiny speedsters to make them pay. Points aplenty on Thursday night - I'll take the home side in something of an upset.

Verdict – Dolphins by 2

Result – Dolphins 30 defeated Sea Eagles 24

Penrith Panthers vs Canterbury Bulldogs – Friday night – BlueBet Stadium

Potentially the game of the round, with both sides heading into Friday night in winning form. The Bulldogs have won their last two over the Knights and Tigers - prior to that a narrow loss to the Storm and a narrow win over the Roosters...that's solid form. The Panthers form is almost always solid, and often the benchmark. Last week they dismantled their opponent while their best player had a rest in the coaches box. He's back this week, and likely to play a leading role. The Bulldogs are yet to win an away game this season which is a concern. More concerning, the last time the Panthers played a game at Penrith they flogged the Broncos. Given the Bulldogs coach, general manager and a fair chunk of their squad used to work at Penrith they should know their way around the joint. This contest will be a great measure of how far the Bulldogs have progressed, but I expect the class of the Panthers will see them prevail.

Verdict – Panthers by 8

Result – Panthers 16 defeated Bulldogs 10

Parramatta Eels vs Brisbane Broncos – Friday night – CommBank Stadium

The players that won't be playing will get as much attention as those that do, with the Broncos chief conductor (Reynolds) out for much of the season, and Gutherson and Moses unavailable for the Eels. With Reynolds logical replacement (Madden) also injured, the Broncos have called upon Josh Rogers to play his second NRL game. The much more experienced Corey Oates returns for the injured Arthars, who won't be back for quite some time either. The Eels have won just the one game since the end of March, and that was a narrow victory over the under-performing Cowboys. Note that the Eels have lost their last nine games without Gutherson at fullback. It's a figure I can't ignore.

Verdict – Broncos by 10

Result – Broncos 30 defeated Eels 14

Wests Tigers  vs Newcastle Knights – Saturday afternoon – Scully Park, Tamworth

The Tigers have now lost five in a row, and that's far from awesome, but I hope Tigers fans don't get too disheartened. Their last three games have included losses to the 2023 grand finalists and a competitive loss to the in-form Bulldogs. The Knights played the Bulldogs a few weeks ago and were towelled up. I expect the Tigers will find this easier than recent outings, and the likely return of Koroisau bolsters their chances immeasurably. I rarely trust the Knights when they're expected to win, and if they take this game lightly they might be in for a shock. 

Verdict – Tigers by 4

​​​​​​​Result – Knights 20 defeated Tigers 14

St George Illawarra Dargons vs South Sydney Rabbitohs – Saturday night – Netstrata Jubilee Stadium

The Dragons, short on coin after a few lean seasons, asked some high school student on Airtasker to put together a jersey or two for last weekend, with comically misspelt results. Now the beancounters at the Dragons, short on coin after a few lean seasons, have determined that it's cheaper to simply change their name to the Dargons rather than get the jerseys re-made. I for one salute the fiscally responsible Dargons. I don't know what a Dargon is, but let's face it, their former name was a myth anyway. Meanwhile, the Rabbitohs have problems that a spellchecker cannot resolve. Mitchell returns after serving a suspension for playing angry. He'll almost certainly need the run, almost certainly get frustrated at some point in proceedings, and almost certainly let his frustrations get the better of him again. He gets angry because he cares, but there's a better way. He joins a handful of some of the most experienced players in the NRL in the red and green on Saturday night, but those wise old heads will be surrounded by players without a lot of experience. Dion Teaupa joins Walker in the halves, and Gehamat Shibasaki has been dragged out of the Townsville feeder club to take a spot on the wing. Attentions Dargons peeps - note that I spelt Gehamat Shibasaki correctly. It's really not that hrad.

Verdict – Dargons by 8

​​​​​​​Result – Dargons 28 defeated Rabbitohs 14

Melbourne Storm vs Cronulla Sharks – Saturday night – AAMI Park

Second plays first in what is likely to be the match of the round. You'll need to pay a subscription service if you want to watch it though, or drag yourself down to AAMI Park. I never shut up about the Sharks and the easy draw they get nearly every season, but thus far the teams they've played are 14th, 8th, 15th, 9th, 17th, 10th, 9th and 13th on the ladder. They're on top of the ladder and they can only beat why they're scheduled to play against, but it's worth remembering that they haven't had too many difficult opponents this season. They finally come up against one of the NRL juggernauts, and the Storm will be without Hughes and Papenhuyzen, so the luck of the draw falls the Sharks way yet again. The Sharks haven't won a game in Melbourne for six years, and the Storm are hoping to win their 15th game in a row at home. Given the history of both clubs at this ground, the Storm remain a warm favourite, but I'll be tipping that the tearaway Dally M leader (and former Storm player) Nicho Hynes to steer the visitors to victory.

Verdict – Sharks by 1

​​​​​​​Result – Sharks 25 defeated Storm 18

Sydney Roosters vs New Zealand Warriors – Sunday afternoon – Allianz Stadium

The Warriors haven't won a game since they beat the Rabbitohs in round five, and that form hasn't exactly held up this season. Now they face a red-hot Roosters team that put the cleaners through the Broncos in Brisbane last start. Not only that, the Chooks have a raft of key players returning on Sunday - Tupou, Waerea-Hargreaves, Leniu and Radley. If you weren't already picking the home side here, Waerea-Hargreaves is lining up for his 300th game for the club. He becomes just the fourth Rooster to achieve that feat. I expect the Roosters will celebrate the milestone in style.

Verdict – Roosters by 14

​​​​​​​Result – Roosters 38 defeated Warriors 18

Gold Coast Titans vs North Queensland Cowboys – Sunday afternoon – CBus Super Stadium

The Cowboys have now lost four in a row, but the last game they did win was against the Titans in round five, and they did so quite comfortably. The Titans have improved since then, but three of their last four losses have been to top four teams. They should find this a little easier. Note the Titans have lost Tanah Boyd to a hand injury. His kicking game, in general play and for goal, will be missed. It should be an entertaining contest regardless, and Fifita will be keen to impress given the list of teams trying to lure him away from the glitter strip.

Verdict – Cowboys by 2

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Result – Titans 20 defeated Cowboys 18

Wally Lewis - round ten selections (in bold)

Note: tips from Wally will be published on Wednesday night or Thursday morning

• DOLPHINS vs Sea Eagles
• PANTHERS vs Bulldogs
• Eels vs BRONCOS
• Tigers vs KNIGHTS
• DRAGONS vs Rabbitohs 
• STORM vs Sharks
• ROOSTERS vs Warriors
• Titans vs COWBOYS