North Queensland Cowboys vs Brisbane Broncos – Friday night – Dairy Farmers Stadium

It’s nice to have your captain return from injury to lead your side. It’s even nicer when both your captains return from injury to lead your side. Matt Scott and Jonathan Thurston are back for the Cowboys in what appears certain to be one of the games of the season. Their absence was telling last week in the Cowboys poorest performance of the year. We can be sure they’ll turn up on this occasion. This was always going to be a big game, but with Darren Lockyer becoming the most capped player in NRL history things get taken to another level entirely. The Broncos will be feeling ten feet tall and bulletproof, but they’ll have to be to win this. Ben Hannant is out with injury and without him they look a little light-on in the engine room. My concerns over that are negated by the Broncos recent record over the Cowboys (seven wins from their last eight). That swings me to the visitors, but boy oh boy this is a game and a half.

Verdict – Broncos

Result - Broncos 34 defeated Cowboys 16

Penrith Panthers vs Wests Tigers – Friday night – Centrebet Stadium

After three straight losses Steve Georgallis has shuffled the deck chairs on HMS Panther. Michael Jennings shifts to fullback and David Simmons moves to the wing. Seluini should see plenty of the ball in the dummy-half role which is great news because every time The Thinker hears his name he giggles like a Japanese schoolgirl. A change is as good as a holiday and it might be time the Panthers start calling their travel agent. They take to the field on Friday night without Luke Lewis, Lachlan Coote and Travis Burns, and they have to play one of the form teams in the competition. The Tigers are on a roll, and they’re beating some very good teams in the process. A loss for the Panthers and their campaign is effectively over. Their campaign is effectively over.

Verdict – Tigers

Result - Tigers 32 defeated Panthers 18

Gold Coast Titans vs Melbourne Storm – Saturday night – Skilled Park

It’s been 13 weeks since the Storm lost a game. I don’t think any of you need me to explain why they’ll win again.

Verdict – Storm

Result - Storm 40 defeated Titans 16

New Zealand Warriors vs Newcastle Knights – Saturday night – Mt Smart Stadium

The Knights have been in tremendous form in recent weeks but one must consider the standard of their opponents before one gets carried away. Their last three wins have been over the Sharks (12^th), Titans (16^th) and Raiders (14^th). Prior to that they played two top eight sides and lost them both. Many of the Warriors recent wins have been over lesser teams also, but their narrow loss to the Broncos in Brisbane has me convinced they are still a genuine hope this year. The Warriors have won seven of the past eight clashes between these sides, and they’ve won five in a row against the Knights when playing at home. But for the Queensland derby this would be the game of the round. The home side to prevail...just

Verdict – Warriors

Result - Warriors 20 defeated Knights 12

Parramatta Eels vs Manly Sea Eagles – Saturday night – Parramatta Stadium

If the Eels were a meal in a restaurant you would send it back to the kitchen if they dished up what they served on Monday night against the Bunnies. I’m no Eels fan, but that was painful to watch. Methinks the run of narrow losses has broken their spirits. Enter the Sea Eagles – a side that turns up every week. It hurts just to think about it.

Verdict – Sea Eagles

Result - Sea Eagles 26 defeated Eels 20

Canberra Raiders vs South Sydney Rabbitohs – Sunday afternoon – Canberra Stadium

The Thinker turns his back for one moment and all of a sudden the Bunnies are in ninth place. The three teams above them are locked together on 26 points, and fortunately for the Bunnies two of those teams play each other. Providing the Bunnies win on Sunday either the Warriors or Knights are within firing range for the run home. Hang in there long-suffering Rabbitohs fans – your season isn’t over yet. Expecting clear skies over Canberra on Sunday so we should see somewhere between 60 and 100 points scored in the capital. The Raiders have stopped to a walk and the Rabbitohs have just started warming up.

Verdict – Rabbitohs

Result - Rabbitohs 47 defeated Raiders 18

St George Illawarra Dragons vs Sydney Roosters – Sunday afternoon – WIN Stadium

The Sydney Boozters had a late night get-together to talk about what went wrong in 2011. Things didn’t go completely to plan, but at least Nate Myles kept his clothes on. The Dragons have won the last six clashes between these sides (including the 2010 Grand Final). I don’t think they can win the premiership in 2011 but they’ll have a lot of fun on Sunday afternoon.

Verdict – Dragons

Result - Roosters 20 defeated Dragons 12

Cronulla Sharks vs Canterbury Bulldogs – Monday night – Toyota Stadium

The Sharks can’t make the top eight from here, and they can’t run last from here. With that in mind the Sharks have little to play for on Monday night - other than putting on a show for the 7000-odd diehards that front up at Toyota Stadium on Monday night. That may well be enough, but the Bulldogs probably think they can still make the eight – and that might be more than enough.

Verdict – Bulldogs

Result - Bulldogs 19 defeated Sharks 12

Wally Lewis - round twenty-three selections (in bold)

Note: tips from Wally will be published on Thursday night or early Friday morning.

• Cowboys vs BRONCOS
• Panthers vs TIGERS
• Titans vs STORM
• WARRIORS vs Knights
• Eels vs SEA EAGLES
• Raiders vs RABBITOHS
• DRAGONS vs Roosters
• SHARKS vs Bulldogs