St George Illawarra Dragons vs Melbourne Storm – Friday night – WIN Stadium

When Dean Young regained his senses following that Greg Inglis tackle he told the medical staff to tell his 2008 coach (Nathan Brown) he was keen to get back on the field. Some cite this as evidence that Young was suffering from concussion, but they would be wrong. In reality, Inglis hit Young with such speed that he actually travelled back through time. And because of that, Dean Young is feeling four years younger, fresh as a daisy, and good to go on Friday night against the Storm. Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy might have to volunteer to blindly run into an Inglis shoulder-charge himself, because his 2008 side were going quite a lot better than his charges are at the minute. This is the first time Craig Bellamy has seen his side lose four in a row. And it's not just the losses, but who they are losing to. Canberra destroyed them...in Melbourne, then the Cowboys broke a ten year drought to beat them in Melbourne as well. But the stale peanut on top of this ugly-tasting cake was the loss to the last-placed Eels last weekend. The Storm dominated every significant statistic against the Eels except the most important one - for some reason they have forgotten how to score. Luckily for them they face an opponent that scores less often than a dormitory full of computer engineering undergraduates. Billy Slater returns, and scoring is entrenched in his DNA. I'll assume his return will kick-start the purple machine back into gear.

Verdict – Storm

Result - Dragons 26 defeated Storm 18

Sydney Roosters vs Gold Coast Titans - Friday night – Allianz Stadium

Last week I was hoping the Roosters hadn't given up on season 2012, and I was wrong. Their campaign is over and their minds are elsewhere. Greg Bird is back for the Gold Coast and he joins one of the strongest forward packs in the game. The Titans aren't the sort of side to rack up big scores over their opponents, but this could be the exception to the rule. You can get $1.70 if you want to back the Titans on Friday night, and that looks like the easiest 70 cents you will ever earn in your life. I need a dollar...a dollar...a dollar is what I need.

Verdict – Titans

Result - Titans 36 defeated Roosters 16

Canterbury Bulldogs vs North Queensland Cowboys - Saturday night – ANZ Stadium

Ben Barba is the new Matt Bowen, and he faces the old Matt Bowen on Saturday night. Just to see those two on the paddock together would be worth the cost of admission alone - that they are playing in sides in winning form is a tremendous bonus. The circumstances of this game have given the Bulldogs quite a few advantages. The Dogs have had eight days since their last game while the Cowboys have had only five. The Bulldogs haven't had to leave Sydney for a month while the Cowboys have played games in New Zealand, Melbourne and now Sydney. Sydney has never been a great hunting ground for the Cowboys, and their record at ANZ Stadium is worse still. All that, and they're facing the premiership favourites who haven't been beaten since round ten. The Bulldogs are $1.57 to win this game. Take that Titans money and roll it all onto the Bulldogs I say. And if you aren't the gambling type, just sit back and enjoy what is clearly the game of the round.

Verdict – Bulldogs

Result - Bulldogs 32 defeated Cowboys 18

Manly Sea Eagles vs New Zealand Warriors – Saturday night – Patersons Stadium (Perth)

If you were ever going to sacrifice one of your home games to play in Perth, it makes perfectly cruel sense to drag a New Zealand side to the other end of the planet with you. I'm not sure which way around the earth the Warriors will travel to get to Perth, but their performances in Australia have been a little disappointing. They've won two games overseas this season - against the teams running last and second last. Manly aren't going as well as they were in 2011, but they're better than that.

Verdict – Sea Eagles

Result - Sea Eagles 24 defeated Warriors 22

Cronulla Sharks vs Penrith Panthers – Saturday night – Toyota Stadium

There aren't many places worse than Penrith on a cold Saturday night, but Cronulla would be one of them. Luke Lewis gets an opportunity to check out his new digs and it would be impolite of him to take points away from the Sharks. The Sharks looked awful last weekend but they do get Paul Gallen and Jeremy Smith back for this game. I'm hardly confident but the home side seems the safe play.  

Verdict – Sharks

Result - Panthers 21 defeated Sharks 20 (golden point)

Canberra Raiders vs Newcastle Knights – Sunday afternoon – Canberra Stadium

If anyone out there can get their head around the Canberra Raiders I'd love to hear from you. The simple way to assess this game is thus; if the Raiders turn up they will win. Unfortunately we won't know if they turn up until ten minutes after kick-off, and most of you would like an answer to that question now. All I can say is that both sides are in pretty good form, and the Raiders did beat the Knights quite soundly at Hunter Stadium in round 14. That might be enough for me.  

Verdict – Raiders

Result - Knights 36 defeated Raiders 6

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Wests Tigers – Sunday afternoon – ANZ Stadium

Have you ever watched one of those five set tennis marathons in a grand slam that drags on for five or more hours? You just know that the poor sap who won is going to get wiped off the court the next time he laces up the Dunlop Volleys. Well the Wests Tigers are that tennis player this weekend. They back up from a fast-paced Monday night game in which they had players dropping like flies. Granted the Rabbitohs are without Luke and Inglis, and that helps a little, but the Bunnies will run over the top of the Tigers in the second half of this game. A shame really, because these two sides have a recent history of giving us an absolute bellringer of a game. Bunnies by 13+.

Verdict – Rabbitohs

Result - Rabbitohs 32 defeated Tigers 6

Brisbane Broncos vs Parramatta Eels – Monday night – Suncorp Stadium

I bumped into Justin Hodges less than an hour ago, and he'll be sorely missed on Monday night. This Broncos backline looks vulnerable to me, and if Jarryd Hayne didn't get injured last weekend I'd be tipping you the Eels. They could still win, but I'll play it safe and assume that these young Broncos backs will relish the opportunity to play some first grade. If you really need to have a bet you can do what I'm going to do and back the Eels at $1.90 with 10.5 points head start. That's too tempting to ignore. Broncos...by a nose.

Verdict – Broncos

Result - Eels 42 defeated Broncos 22

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

Note: tips from Wally will be published as soon as possible (usually on Thursday night or early Friday morning).

• Dragons vs STORM
• Roosters vs TITANS
• BULLDOGS vs Cowboys
• SEA EAGLES vs Warriors
• SHARKS vs Panthers
• Raiders vs KNIGHTS
• RABBITOHS vs Tigers
• BRONCOS vs Eels