Wests Tigers vs New Zealand Warriors – Friday night – Leichhardt Oval

Benji Marshall has a chance to talk to his opponents about life in Auckland. The Warriors have a chance to pick up a (reasonably) rare win in Sydney. Leichhardt Oval keeps the home side in the contest but this is one inexperienced Tigers line-up (seven members of the team have played less than 20 NRL games). Much depends on how (and if) Robbie Farah and Aaron Woods back up from the biggest games of their lives 48 hours earlier. Robbie was looking pretty empty at full-time on Wednesday night - lifting himself for this clash isn't going to be easy. These sides have a recent history of close contests and I doubt this will be any different. Warriors by 4, and if Konrad Hurrell doesn't pick up a try at some point I'll be very surprised.

Verdict – Warriors

Result - Warriors 24 defeated Tigers 14

Canberra Raiders vs Parramatta Eels – Saturday night – Canberra Stadium

So far this season the Raiders have played the following teams at home - the Dragons, Roosters, Warriors, Knights, Broncos, Panthers and the Cowboys...and they won them all. If you can think of a single reason why they couldn't do the same against the Eels you are a better tipster than I am. In their last three outings the Eels have scored exactly ten points, and that looks a likely total for Saturday night also. It won't be enough.

Verdict – Raiders

Result - Raiders 14 defeated Eels 0

Sydney Roosters vs Cronulla Sharks – Saturday night – Allianz Stadium

It isn't easy to keep an opponent on zero points for 80 minutes of a footy game. It has happened just eleven times this season and, rather impressively, the Roosters have done it four times. The last time the Roosters hit the paddock they beat the Dragons 36-0, and while the Sharks have a lot more to offer in attack than the struggling Dragons, it's fair to assume that the Roosters defensive structures are working very well indeed. We have to wait and see if the Roosters halves back up from Origin duty, but Daniel Mortimer returns on the bench and Sonny Bill can slot in just about anywhere if the coach has a job that needs doing. On four occasions the Sharks have played top four teams for one win, and although that win was a beauty (a two point victory over the Rabbitohs) it was a win at home. With captain Paul Gallen unavailable and representative forwards Lewis and Fifita on a short back-up this does look pretty tough. Chicken or Fish? I feel like chicken tonight.

Verdict – Roosters

Result - Roosters 40 defeated Sharks 0

Penrith Panthers vs Newcastle Knights – Sunday afternoon – Centrebet Stadium

This is the game you want to get right this weekend, and it's also the game you want to watch this weekend. Neither side has lost a game for almost a month and neither side is significantly affected by State of Origin duties. I'm warming to the Knights for a couple of reasons. Their recent record over the Panthers is hard to ignore and I think the Sunday afternoon timeslot can bring out the best in the visitors. Sadly for the Panthers they have lost Nigel Plum to a shoulder injury for an indefinite period. He may not have much of a profile but to my eyeballs he's been one of the very best players in the NRL this season. In his absence I think that experienced Knights pack can get the upper hand and Jarrod Mullen has the kicking game to take advantage of same. Should be a beauty.

Verdict – Knights

Result - Knights 32 defeated Panthers 14

Manly Sea Eagles vs Gold Coast Titans – Sunday afternoon – Brookvale Oval

The Titans have a pretty solid record against the Sea Eagles (five wins from their last eight games) and if you could add Greg Bird, Jamal Idris and William Zillman to their side I'd be tipping them in an upset. Without them they are likely to fall short, and I can't help but think that Manly captain Jamie Lyon will be giving his direct opponent (the inexperienced Jamie Dowling) a few footballing lessons this weekend. A lot needs to go your way to beat the Sea Eagles at Brookvale on a Sunday afternoon, and things aren't going the Titans way at the moment.

Verdict – Sea Eagles

Result - Sea Eagles 38 defeated Titans 20

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs St George Illawarra Dragons – Monday night – ANZ Stadium

In their last four outings the Rabbitohs have scored 30, 30, 32 and 30 points respectively. The Dragons have scored 30 or more points this season on one lone occasion, and that was against the Eels. If you've watched five minutes of rugby league this season you would know that the Rabbitohs are a better side than the Eels. In fact, I'd be wagering that Rabbitohs' goalkicker Adam Reynolds will outscore the Dragons on Monday night. Believe it or not I have a sneaking suspicion the Dragons will keep this one reasonably close for the first 40 minutes. This could be one of those games where the Bunnies aren't completely switched on from the kick-off. If they do get off to a slow start, you can be sure that coach Michael Maguire will have some well-placed rockets for his troops at half-time. Said rockets will be lit during the second half and the final result should end up looking a little more like what we expect. Backing the Dragons to score somewhere between 0-10 points in this game looks like a reasonable betting proposition I'm thinkering.

Verdict – Rabbitohs

Result - Dragons 22 defeated Rabbitohs 18 (golden point)

Wally Lewis - round nineteen selections (in bold)

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

• Tigers vs WARRIORS
• RAIDERS vs Eels
• ROOSTERS vs Sharks
• Panthers vs KNIGHTS
• SEA EAGLES vs Titans
• RABBITOHS vs Dragons