Brisbane Broncos vs Melbourne Storm – Thursday night – Suncorp Stadium

The Broncos would need to win (and by a space) to have any chance of the minor premiership. Even then results on Friday night have to fall their way for that to happen. It's a longshot. Losing second spot is virtually impossible. They get their home final, and it should be a bottler of a game against the Cowboys. For the Storm it's a little complicated. If they win they can replace the Sharks in the top four (if the Sharks lose). Top four is great, but it means an away game in the first week of the finals. A loss and, theoretically they could finish as low as seventh - facing a knockout final away from home. That's unlikely but possible, and they certainly don't want that. On weights and measures the Storm will want this more, but are they good enough? I mentioned last week that the Roosters/Broncos game was the high water mark of the season - both those sides came out a week later and smashed decent teams away from home. This Broncos side is humming, and Bennett is convinced they'll be better next year. David Stagg gets a run on Thursday, and a chance to play one more big game at Suncorp before he calls time. A good egg. A smart egg. I wish him well in retirement. Note that Ben Hunt is also resting his corked thigh...there may be more to come. Bellamy wasn't happy with the draw for his purple machine, but one advantage of the Thursday night slot is these sides get at least one extra day (in some cases it's three extra days) to prepare for the finals. The Broncos will find this hard to lose but I'm punting on it - Bennett and his playmakers will want to hold some trick shots back for the finals. The Storm can't win the premiership this season, but this team has life in it yet. A golden point victory for the purple machine. Looks a cracker.

Verdict – Storm by 1

Result - Storm 15 defeated Broncos 8

Sydney Roosters vs South Sydney Rabbitohs – Friday night – Allianz Stadium

Before this game kicks off the Roosters will probably have the minor premiership in their keeping. They could rest some of their stars, but plenty of them are already resting. It didn't stop the rest of the tricolours putting the Sea Eagles to the cleaners at Brookvale. This side, like the Broncos, are humming. The Bunnies are in seventh place and can't fall any lower. It looks like they'll face the Bulldogs in the first week of the finals - which is a home game for both of them. Luke is out, Inglis is out, Sutton is out. If I can coin a phrase, the result looks pre-emptable. If the NRL have their wits about them the Chooks should be parading the JJ Giltinan Shield after full-time. That's three minor premierships in a row which is a mighty achievement - the last team that did that had all three minor premierships stripped away. Parading that trophy will feel even nicer knowing that the Bunnies have to sit there on their sad sorry bunny butts watching them.

Verdict – Roosters by 20

Result - Roosters 30 defeated Rabbitohs 0

Penrith Panthers vs Newcastle Knights – Saturday afternoon – Pepper Stadium

Fifteenth plays sixteenth so both teams have plenty on the line. Whichever side wins avoids the spoon, but a win for the Panthers and they could move as high as 11th. The only team the Panthers have beaten in quite a while is the Warriors, while the Knights under Buderus have been good enough to beat the Storm in Melbourne and go close to knocking off the in-form Bulldogs last round. That game was something of a grand final for the Knights, whereas this is a grand final for the Panthers. That could prove the difference as both sides look forward to putting a full stop at the end of what have been very disappointing 2015 campaigns.

Verdict – Panthers by 4

Result - Panthers 30 defeated Knights 12

St George Illawarra Dragons vs Wests Tigers – Saturday night – ANZ Stadium

The Tigers could actually win the wooden spoon this year, but it would take a draw in the Panthers/Knights game for that to happen. It probably won't happen. A win and they could push up to 11th instead of 15th, which is something...I guess. The Dragons will probably hold onto 8th place whether they win or lose, but a win guarantees it. Their coach looked fired up after the loss last week and I expect their minds to be on the job. The Tigers put in last week for Farah, Galloway and Richards. I doubt they can replicate it.

Verdict – Dragons by 8

Result - Dragons 32 defeated Tigers 30

North Queensland Cowboys vs Gold Coast Titans – Saturday night – 1300SMILES Stadium

If the Storm flogged the Broncos the Cowboys can make the top two with a big win but it's just a maths equation for now. James Tamou is back on Saturday night and the run will do him the world of good before the finals. It took him a while to get his zing back following his last return from injury. There's also rumblings that Michael Morgan could be back sometime soon, and the premiership race gets a lot more interesting if he's in the picture. This particular game is a difficult one to call - neither side has much on the line. The Titans have named an extended bench and it wouldn't surprise me if some of their kids get a run this weekend. The Cowboys are a class above.

Verdict – Cowboys by 4

Result - Cowboys 42 defeated Titans 12

Parramatta Eels vs Canberra Raiders – Sunday afternoon – Pirtek Stadium

The Raiders got to celebrate with a win in their last home game on Monday night, and I suspect thoughts have already turned to Mad September. Note that Blake Austin and Jack Wighton are both unavailable. The Eels have been competitive in recent weeks and deserve a win - they get their chance in the traditional Sunday afternoon timeslot at their home ground. You can get $1.70 about the Eels if you shop around, and for my money that is very good shopping. Gamble responsibly.

Verdict – Eels by 10

Result - Raiders 28 defeated Eels 24

Cronulla Sharks vs Manly Sea Eagles – Sunday afternoon – Remondis Stadium

If the Dragons beat the Tigers this game is meaningless to the Sea Eagles. The Sharks on the other hand, have three teams on their tail with better points differentials. If they win they stay where they are, but if they lose they will almost certainly drop out of the top four - the Bulldogs will make certain of that in the hours that follow. I suggested that the Manly campaign looked like it was running out of steam last week and they played that way. The Sharks are in winning form and have too much to lose. Geoff Toovey deserves a nicer finale, but the cards don't always fall the way we'd like them to.

Verdict – Sharks by 10

Result - Sea Eagles 14 defeated Sharks 12

Canterbury Bulldogs vs New Zealand Warriors – Sunday night – ANZ Stadium

The Bulldogs could still finish fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh this season. By kickoff some of those options may no longer be available to them. Sixth or seventh isn't likely to make much difference - because the result in either case is a game at ANZ stadium against the Bunnies in week one of the finals. The Warriors gave up weeks ago - they may come out with some razzle dazzle early and could jag a try or two (like they did against the Cowboys), but at some point the game gets hard and the Warriors will go soft. Bulldogs 50ish - Warriors 10ish. It would be worse, but Des will start wrapping key players in cotton wool in the second half. Cotton wool stems the bleeding.

Verdict – Bulldogs by 40

Result - Bulldogs 26 defeated Warriors 22

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

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

• BRONCOS vs Storm
• ROOSTERS vs Rabbitohs
• Panthers vs KNIGHTS
• DRAGONS vs Tigers
• COWBOYS vs Titans
• EELS vs Raiders
• SHARKS vs Sea Eagles
• BULLDOGS vs Warriors