Brisbane Broncos vs Cronulla Sharks – Friday night – Suncorp Stadium

Sharks captain Paul Gallen couldn’t make it last weekend and it certainly showed. To be held scoreless on your home turf when you’re competing for a top eight berth is a pretty disappointing effort. You would expect an improved showing on Friday night, but Paul Gallen will once again be wearing a suit and tie on the sideline. There’s only so much he can do from there, although I wouldn’t be surprised if he still found a way to make half a dozen tackles. The Broncos competed with the Storm for much of their match last Friday. They beat the Sharks convincingly in round 13 and will be desperate to finish in the top four. The Broncos don’t lose games like this.

Verdict – Broncos

Result - Broncos 46 defeated Sharks 16

Manly Sea Eagles vs Wests Tigers – Friday night – Bluetongue Stadium

Manly had no right to win last weekend, but win they did. That they did so when so much went against them speaks volumes for their prospects this season. Anthony Watmough returns and Manly will take to the field with their best 17. Based on their form, their fitness and their consistency it will take a very good team to beat them. On their day the Tigers are a very good team. If everything went right for them on Friday night they can win, but they’ll have to do it without my support.

Verdict – Sea Eagles

Result - Tigers 14 defeated Sea Eagles 12

Sydney Roosters vs Canterbury Bulldogs – Saturday night – Sydney Football Stadium

The Roosters run home this season is awful. In their last five games they face Manly at Brookvale, the Dragons at Wollongong, the Sharks at home, Parramatta away and they finish it all off with a game against the Storm. Yuk! They sit two points clear of the Titans in second last, but to avoid the wooden spoon they probably need to win at least one more game this season. This is the game they can win. Their attack has failed to fire but there have been glimpses of what they can do in recent weeks. Neither side has set the scoreboard on fire this season but I’m expecting some points on Saturday night. Ben Barba could score a treble and keep things close, but across the park the chickens appear to have the doggies covered for strikepower. I’m not confident of course – if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years it’s that you shouldn’t count your chickens before the match.

Verdict – Roosters

Result - Roosters 32 defeated Bulldogs 28

North Queensland Cowboys vs Penrith Panthers – Saturday night – Dairy Farmers Stadium

Just five weeks ago these sides met and the Panthers won by 10 – and the Cowboys had Jonathan Thurston five weeks ago. Based on that you would think the Panthers pick themselves. They probably would pick themselves given the opportunity but none of them were available so that responsibility rests with me. I think the Cowboys can turn the tables this time around. There are two telling factors for mine. Firstly the Panthers are without Travis Burns and Lachlan Coote and that limits their attacking options considerably. Secondly (and perhaps more importantly) the Panthers have won just one game on the road this season – and that was against the Titans.

Verdict – Cowboys

Result - Cowboys 30 defeated Panthers 18

Newcastle Knights vs Gold Coast Titans – Sunday afternoon – Ausgrid Stadium

The Knights are playing for a top eight finish. The Titans are playing to avoid the wooden spoon. I actually think the Titans are some chance of avoiding the spoon, but they won’t be doing anything to improve their position this weekend. The Knights have been in pretty good form of late. They might have lost two of their last three, but both those game were against top four sides. The Titans aren’t beating sides in the bottom four, and they can’t beat the Knights in Newcastle.

Verdict – Knights

Result - Knights 50 defeated Titans 20

New Zealand Warriors vs Canberra Raiders – Sunday afternoon – Mt Smart Stadium

The Warriors certainly have their groove back – racking up three wins on the trot and scoring 126 points in the process. Even more impressively they are conceding not much more than 10 points a game as well. Those wins have been against teams outside of the top eight but they can’t do much more than what they have done. Their opponent this week is also outside the top eight, but they did (theoretically anyway) keep their season alive with that rather extraordinary win over the Dragons on Monday night. Can they carry that enthusiasm with them on the plane to Auckland? I hope that they can because this would be quite a game if they do, but I think the Warriors will win anyway.

Verdict – Warriors

Result - Warriors 29 defeated Raiders 10

St George Illawarra Dragons vs South Sydney Rabbitohs – Sunday afternoon – WIN Stadium

I made the mistake of ignoring hoodoos last week when the Raiders knocked off the Dragons in the final play of the game on Monday night. I won’t be making that mistake this time. The Rabbits have won just one game at WIN Stadium in 13 years. Since the Dragons became a merged entity the Rabbits have beaten them just three times. And when these sides met in round six the Rabbits couldn’t score a point. Dragons captain Ben Hornby returns from injury for this game and the under-rated Dan Hunt returns up front. With just two wins from their last seven games the Dragons are looking a little bit wobbly but they’ll wobably be winning this. Oh Thinker…you are such a card.

Verdict – Dragons

Result - Rabbitohs 34 defeated Dragons 24

Parramatta Eels vs Melbourne Storm – Monday night – Parramatta Stadium

I got to spend a fair bit of time concentrating on the Storm last Friday night and I think I’ve worked out what gives them their edge. This year they have adjusted their wrestling style – instead of wrestling the ball-carrier on the ground they are actually wrestling them on their feet. This gives them some additional time to set their defensive line and this is part of the reason why they are so darn hard to crack. Check them out if you get a chance – it is all perfectly legal (for now at least). The Eels have suffered consecutive golden point losses and they must be hurting. They’ll be pleased to know that I have some very good news for them. There is absolutely no chance that this game will go to golden point. Storm by 20.

Verdict – Storm

Result - Storm 22 defeated Eels 18

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

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

• BRONCOS vs Sharks
• SEA EAGLES vs Tigers
• Roosters vs BULLDOGS
• COWBOYS vs Panthers
• KNIGHTS vs Titans
• WARRIORS vs Raiders
• DRAGONS vs Rabbitohs
• Eels vs STORM