Gold Coast Titans vs Parramatta Eels – Friday night – Cbus Super Stadium

Given circumstances in NSW at the minute, it's entirely possible that the Titans can play out the rest of the season on the Gold Coast. Sitting tenth on the ladder, home ground advantage could be enough to see them claim a place in the top eight. Winning this would help, but winning this is hard. Moeaki Fotuaika, Tino Fa'asumaleaui and AJ Brimson have been named for the Titans but would have to back up from Wednesday night. David Fifita does get to play, as his one match suspension gets served at Origin level. The Eels have also named their Origin duo (Moses and Paulo), and Reed Mahoney returns in the all-important dummy-half role. The Titans impressed against the Raiders when they last played and I give them an honest chance here. What concerns me is their record this season against the better sides - seven times they've played top eight teams and they've lost them all. 

Verdict – Eels by 8

Result – Eels 26 defeated Titans 8

Manly Sea Eagles vs St George Illawarra Dragons – Friday night – Cbus Super Stadium

Both clubs have named their Origin players here, but with a two day turnaround you need to keep your eyes out for team changes. The inclusion or exclusion of any of those four could have a profound impact on the result, so I'm guessing a little bit here. The NSW players are more likely to be celebrating (within reason) after Wednesday night, so that could make the back-up a little harder for Trbojevic and Sims. To make this even more complicated the Dragons are taking to the field for the first time after barbecue-gate. Matt Dufty, Tyrell Fuimaono and Kaide Ellis won't play this week, and depending on who you ask the Dragons are a splintered group in tathers or a united force ready to prove a point. I try to be an optimist when I can, but I have my doubts about the Dragons. I'm more optimistic about Manly, even after a disappointing effort last start. If Turbo plays they win, and if he doesn't play they might scrape home anyway.

Verdict – Sea Eagles by 2

Result – Sea Eagles 32 defeated Dragons 18

Canberra Raiders vs Cronulla Sharks – Saturday afternoon – Cbus Super Stadium

Jack Wighton and Josh Papalii have been named for the Raiders, although Matt Frawley did a good job for Canberra last weekend. If Wighton doesn't play, Frawley won't let them down. Papalii played for plenty of minutes on Wednesday night, so his withdrawal wouldn't surprise me. The Sharks have now won five of their last six - they're a boring, honest outfit that get the job done. Interim coach Josh Hannay probably deserves a wrap. They're never going to put up a score against anyone but they are winning contested football games. In round two the Raiders prevailed in a low scoring grind (12-10). This is likely to be another one of those, but the Sharks have improved since then and the Raiders haven't. The Canberra win over Manly was a good sign, but I'll need to see consistent performances like that before they have me believing again.

Verdict – Sharks by 2

​​​​​​​Result – Raiders 34 defeated Sharks 18

North Queensland Cowboys vs Sydney Roosters – Saturday night – Queensland Country Bank Stadium

The Cowboys are one of four teams that get a home ground advantage for the next month (and probably the rest of the season). That's great news for the Cowboys, a team that have won five of their last six at home, with their only loss a narrow defeat to the Cronulla Sharks. All five Origin players are still in the line-ups, but at the very least we can scratch Valentine Holmes for the Cowboys. Luckily for the Cowboys it doesn't appear to be season-ending. The Chooks grafted out a win over the last-placed Bulldogs last weekend, but it wasn't impressive. They'll be better with Tedesco at the back...assuming he plays of course. The Cowboys left edge defence were found wanting a few times last start. I'm sure the Cowboys have focused on tightening that up, but the Chooks will be sure to test them on that edge. Exposing that weakness might be enough to get the Roosters the win, but this could be closer than most predict.

Verdict – Roosters by 4

​​​​​​​Result – Roosters 34 defeated Cowboys 18

Melbourne Storm vs Newcastle Knights – Saturday night – AAMI Park

The Storm have made a big deal (and rightly so) about their return to AAMI Park on Saturday night - let's hope Victoria isn't in another lockdown by then. Earlier this season they played five games at home and won them all, and they averaged more than 33 points per game in attack while conceded (on average) less than 13 points per game in defence. That's an ominous record, but they've actually improved since then. They've played their last 8 games away from home and won them all. During that period they averaged nearly 43 points per game in attack and conceded an average of less than 11 points per game in defence. Freaks the lot of them. Papenhuyzen and Grant are still unavailable, and the Storm have five players backing up from Origin, but you simply can't tip against them, can you?

Verdict – Storm by 14

​​​​​​​Result – Storm 48 defeated Knights 4

New Zealand Warriors vs Penrith Panthers – Sunday afternoon – Suncorp Stadium

The Warriors thought they were finally heading home but it's not to be. Surely the rest of the NRL clubs can agree to give them a run of home games next season (pandemic permitting). Following the loss to the Sharks, it's looking much less likely that the Warriors will make the top eight this season. They've played top eight teams seven times this season, and lost them all. Their next two games look tough, and if they lose those there's a congested field of top eight contenders in front of them. The Panthers are not unbeatable at the minute - both playmakers are yet to return and another four key players need to back up from Wednesday night. Still, with an Origin series done and dusted the Panthers can re-focus on a premiership tilt.

Verdict – Panthers by 8

​​​​​​​Result – Panthers 30 defeated Warriors 16

Brisbane Broncos vs Wests Tigers – Sunday afternoon – Suncorp Stadium

It looks quite likely that the Broncos can spend the rest of the season in Queensland. That advantage, and a reasonably favourable run home, should see them avoid back to back wooden spoons. By Broncos standards that's a long way away from a successful season, but if they can pick up a few wins here and there it will give them some sort of grounding for the years ahead. As for the Tigers, there's some talk that the coach is on notice to perform, but I've been hearing that talk for a while. Bringing Tim Sheens back into the fold might help as he has a wealth of experience and footballers almost universally like playing with him. Maguire is shuffling a few of his chess pieces around the board again for this game (Doueihi into the halves, Mbye onto the bench) but he hasn't found a winning combination yet. The Broncos should get a decent crowd to this fixture. They've only won 3 from 8 at home this season, but note that their fives losses at home were against the teams running 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th. This is easier.

Verdict – Broncos by 4

​​​​​​​Result – Tigers 42 defeated Broncos 24

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Canterbury Bulldogs – Sunday night – Cbus Super Stadium

In round four the Bunnies beat the Bulldogs 38-0. In the last three weeks, the Bunnies have scored 130 points and conceded 40, while the Bulldogs have scored 26 points and conceded 124. The numbers don't lie.

Verdict – Rabbitohs by 22

​​​​​​​Result – Rabbitohs 32 defeated Bulldogs 24

Wally Lewis - round eighteen selections (in bold)

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

• Titans vs EELS
• SEA EAGLES vs Dragons
• Raiders vs SHARKS
• Cowboys vs ROOSTERS
• STORM vs Knights
• Warriors vs PANTHERS
• BRONCOS vs Tigers
• RABBITOHS vs Bulldogs