St George Illawarra Dragons vs Penrith Panthers – Thursday night – WIN Stadium

I dare anyone, other than the Coach, to name the Panthers captain on Thursday night (no googling). Well, it surprised me when I saw the (c) beside the name of Elijah Taylor. I rate the bloke, but it's an indication of the challenges the Panthers have faced this year on the casualty front. Almost as strange, the Dragons captain (Ben Creagh) is starting on the bench. The Dragons had no trouble gaining ground in round 23 but turning that advantage into points proved troublesome. To be fair, the goal line defence of their opponent that night is the best in the business - getting through the Panthers seems a more attainable goal. Marshall has been named but we don't know for sure (he was named last week) - if he plays it increases my confidence.

Verdict – Dragons by 8

Result - Dragons 19 defeated Panthers 12

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Canterbury Bulldogs – Friday night – ANZ Stadium

I've yacked on for years about the importance of the spine (1,6,7,9) in the modern game. This week the Rabbitohs have to replace two of theirs. John Sutton slots in for Luke Keary which should be okay, but only Issac Luke can adequately replace Issac Luke - and he's unavailable. Paul Carter will do his best impersonation. It's these changes that have probably driven the prices with the bookmakers - with the Bulldogs a warm favourite. That's fair enough, but their number nine on Friday night is Damien Cook - hardly their first choice either. I was more impressed with the Rabbitohs away win over the Cowboys than the Bulldogs away win over the Titans. That's better form surely. An upset, of sorts, in front of what should be a bumper crowd.

Verdict – Rabbitohs by 7

Result - Bulldogs 32 defeated Rabbitohs 18

Cronulla Sharks vs Wests Tigers – Saturday afternoon – Remondis Stadium

Cronulla seemed hellbent on reminding everyone on Monday night what a bunch of nasty cheating cheats they were playing - I suppose they would know. Sadly for them they forgot to play any football and it backfired - scoring a grand total of zero tries in front of their home crowd. I'd expect them to remember to play some football this time, and on paper it's hard to see them getting beaten. The Tigers won't back down of course, what with their battle to avoid last, but an away win looks unlikely.

Verdict – Sharks by 4

Result - Sharks 40 defeated Tigers 18

New Zealand Warriors vs North Queensland Cowboys – Saturday night – Mt Smart Stadium

The Cowboys were disappointing last Thursday against the Bunnies, but the Warriors have been disappointing for weeks. As I've said previously, almost every season we get suckered into the Warriors during the State of Origin period. Then we reach the run home to the finals, and more often than not they let us down. The only way I can see an upset here is if the Cowboys are really off and the Warriors are really on. That's possible, but it's all but impossible to tip it.

Verdict – Cowboys by 16

Result - Cowboys 50 defeated Warriors 16

Sydney Roosters vs Brisbane Broncos – Saturday night – Allianz Stadium

This is football, and possibly a crystall ball view of the 2015 grand final. First plays second and your eyeballs deserve the opportunity to see this. Hodges returns and both sides are essentially one prop forward shy of naming their best team. The Roosters should win the forwards battle for field position and win it comfortably, so it's just a matter of converting that position into points. The Dragons struggled last weekend, but you'd expect the Chooks to perform better in that regard. Manly showed us what a talented backline can do to the Broncos. I'm not expecting anything like that here, but the Chooks can make a statement at home this weekend, and take the top spot on the ladder in the process. Compulsory viewing.

Verdict – Roosters by 4

Result - Roosters 12 defeated Broncos 10

Gold Coast Titans vs Canberra Raiders – Sunday afternoon – CBus Super Stadium

It's pretty freaking unlikely, but if I was punting on a surprise inclusion in the finals race this season I'd be going with the Raiders. It's an absolute longshot, but their points differential gives them a shot if they can level up with some of the other teams battling for the 8th spot. The risk here is that they don't believe it, so I'm hoping Ricky Stuart can convince them a win in this game isn't pointless. If Ricky doesn't believe you'd have to pick the Titans - who would be eyeing this as the game that could get them off the bottom of the ladder. So that's the situation folks - are the Raiders enjoying a weekend away from the Canberra winter or are they here to play? Answer that correctly and you have your winner. If any of you are in daily contact with the Canberra coach I'd like to hear from you.

Verdict – Raiders by 10

Result - Titans 28 defeated Raiders 12

Manly Sea Eagles vs Parramatta Eels – Sunday afternoon – Brookvale Oval

Manly are on a roll, and when Manly are on a roll you back them in the Sunday sessions at Brookie. You also back Brett Stewart to score a try - he's likely to get two. Parramatta argued they were still in finals contention (mathematically) before their loss last weekend, but they aren't anymore. It all adds up to a Sea Eagles victory. 

Verdict – Sea Eagles by 22

Result - Eels 20 defeated Sea Eagles 16

Melbourne Storm vs Newcastle Knights – Monday night – AAMI Park

I'm on holidays for goodness sake. Surely you don't need an explanation here.

Verdict – Storm by 16

Result - Knights 20 defeated Storm 6

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

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

• DRAGONS vs Panthers
• RABBITOHS vs Bulldogs
• SHARKS vs Tigers
• Warriors vs COWBOYS
• Roosters vs BRONCOS
• Titans vs RAIDERS
• SEA EAGLES vs Eels
• STORM vs Knights