Canberra Raiders vs Redcliffe Dolphins – Thursday night – GIO Stadium

The Raiders have had time to prepare for this, after a bye last week and a competitive loss to the Panthers at home the week prior. They'll be without Young and Strange, but the replacements (Laurie and Hosking) are legitimate first grade footballers. Savage returns from an injury on the wing to add speed and strength to what is an already impressive backline. More changes for the Dolphins, with Flegler, Plath, Tabuai-Fidow and Cobbo in Origin camp, and Nikorima out with a hamstring injury. It's a test of depth but the Dolphins still have a roster that can pull together a legitimate football team. But with line-up changes come disruption, and it can take time for the combinations to come together, especially so when the changes disrupt the spine. To make things worse, Canberra is delivering the Canberra weather, with temperatures dropping to the very low single digits overnight on Thursday. Brrrrrr.

Verdict - Raiders by 4

Result - Dolphins 30 defeated Raiders 22

Canterbury Bulldogs vs Melbourne Storm – Friday night – Accor Stadium

The Bulldogs have lost five in a row, and seven of their last eight. They're interesting results, made all the more baffling because that one win was against the Panthers, who haven't lost a game to anyone else. They lose Crichton for this, but they didn't have him when they beat the Panthers. Kiraz returns on the wing and their forward pack is unaffected by Origin. A surprise to me - I certainly would have found a spot for Preston on the NSW bench. The Storm have strung a few wins together, but are they out of the woods? Just as they get some momentum they lose Munster, Grant and Loiero to the Qld Origin squad. To make the top eight this year, they'll need to win some games during this Origin period of the draw, which is tough. The Dogs continue to struggle in attack, and while they are a warm favourite on Friday night I'll take them on until I saw them scoring tries.

Verdict - Storm by 4

Result - Bulldogs 30 defeated Storm 20

St George Illawarra Dragons vs New Zealand Warriors – Saturday night – Jubilee Stadium

This will be the Warriors third game in a row in Australia. The ditch-crossing used to concern me, but not anymore. Comprehensive victories over the Eels in Sydney and the Broncos in Brisbane tells me they'll be just fine, particularly against a team that hasn't won a game this year. For the Dragons, Su'A returns and plugs a gap in the centres. Defending at centre is arguably the hardest job in the game, so expect the Warriors to test him with speed and agility on the edge. The Warriors have lost Boyd in the halves, but Martin was impressive when thrust into the role last week. Barnett and Capewell are in Origin camps but, incredibly, the NSW selectors couldn't find a spot for Jackson Ford. At least that gives him a chance to claw back some Dally M points on Nathan Cleary.

Verdict - Warriors by 10

​​​​​​​Result - Warriors 30 defeated Dragons 12

Manly Sea Eagles vs Gold Coast Titans – Saturday night – 4 Pines Park

Olakau'atu, Hopoate and Koula are out for the Sea Eagles, while the Titans lose Fa'asuamaleaui and Fifita. There are green shoots at the Titans, although I feel like I've been saying that for a while now. They can be competitive in this, and I've seen a few people tipping them in an upset, but the Sea Eagles are on a winning run and I see no reason to tip against them at home.

Verdict - Sea Eagles by 8

​​​​​​​Result - Sea Eagles 12 defeated Titans 10

North Queensland Cowboys vs South Sydney Rabbitohs – Sunday afternoon – Queensland Country Bank Stadium

The Cowboys will be up and about after an impressive win over the Roosters during Magic Round. They've lost Cotter to Origin duty and Burns to injury, but that's less disruption than they've typically had to deal with at this time of the year in seasons past. Meanwhile, the Rabbitohs have lost both centres (Mitchell and Graham) and Murray to Origin. Their bench also looks a bit light, and if they have any issues with their starting forward pack it looks understrength against the Cowboys engine room. The punters are struggling to split these two but I'm pretty confident about the Cowboys on Sunday.

Verdict - Cowboys by 14

​​​​​​​Result - Cowboys 30 defeated Rabbitohs 18

Wally Lewis - round twelve selections (in bold)

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

• RAIDERS vs Dolphins
• BULLDOGS vs Storm
• Dragons vs WARRIORS
• SEA EAGLES vs Titans
• COWBOYS vs Rabbitohs