St George Illawarra Dragons vs Canberra Raiders – Thursday night – Jubilee Oval

If you put me on the spot and asked me to name the three best teams in the NRL right now I would list the Cowboys, Broncos and Sharks. The Dragons have played all three, and in 240 minutes of football against those three sides they have scored a total of two points. They've scored 20 points in a game just once this season - against the team that were running last. The Raiders have only played one of those top three sides (the Sharks), and while they didn't win they did score 16 points. They've scored 20 points or more six times this season in nine games. Those numbers don't lie, but neither do these numbers - the Dragons have won as many games as the Raiders this season. So what we're left with is a home team that knows how to win in a grind against an away team that knows how to make the ball sing. I like singing.

Verdict – Raiders by 4

Result - Dragons 16 defeated Raiders 12

Parramatta Eels vs South Sydney Rabbitohs – Friday night – Pirtek Stadium

I had the Eels pencilled in as certainties in this game, and while I still expect them to win there's an X factor at play on Friday night which I hadn't considered previously. Greg Inglis has moved into the halves (with Alex Johnston returning at fullback), and while he hasn't set the NRL alight this season this is the Recognise Round. GI did win a Clive Churchill in the six jersey, and he could easily drag himself off the ropes and give us a game to remember (and another goanna). For the Rabbitohs to win he would need to. The Eels have shown resilience throughout the season already and they'll be galvanised in front of what should be a packed Pirtek. No Foran, no Mannah...no matter.

Verdict – Eels by 8

Result - Rabbitohs 22 defeated Eels 20

Penrith Panthers vs New Zealand Warriors – Saturday afternoon – AMI Stadium (Christchurch)

It's déjà vu all over again with the Panthers, who keep scoring virtually identical totals each and every week. As a rule, 18-20 points isn't enough to beat the Warriors in New Zealand. In fact, the only sides to contain the Warriors attack this season have been the Broncos and the Storm (twice). The Panthers are a notch down from that level, but they're clearly better than the sides the Warriors have either beaten or competed with. The Panthers have lost Whare and Martin for the season, but the seventeen they've named this weekend is the same seventeen that can see them competing in September. This is a bloody good team, and if the key players stay fit and well, I expect the attack to click into gear and the floodgates to open. This looks like just the game to see that happen. Some big bodies return for the Warriors (Matulino, Thompson) on Saturday but there's plenty of forwards in that Panthers seventeen (Campbell-Gillard, Cartwright, Latimore, Fisher-Harris) that look like future Origin players to me eye.

Verdict – Panthers by 2

Result - Panthers 30 defeated Warriors 18

Melbourne Storm vs North Queensland Cowboys – Saturday night – Suncorp Stadium

Sometimes a statistic looks plain wrong - so wrong that you go back and check the figures yourself. Here's one of those now - the Storm have won 10 of the 13 games they've played at Suncorp. With a 77% win rate at this venue that puts them a long way in front of the Cowboys (38%) and, dare I say it, quite a way in front of the Broncos (61%). They're also heading north in a rich vein of form, racking up 80 points in their last two outings without conceding a point. Yet in the face of all that evidence I simply can't tip against the Cowboys on Saturday night. For years the Cowboys had their seasons derailed by injuries, but once again they can name their best seventeen this round. This seventeen were good enough to win one of the great grand finals and they're good enough to win this. There's but a handfull of tickets left if you're keen to be there - no doubt the NRL will take notes as they consider where to take the NRL grand final during the ANZ Stadium redevelopment. The game of the round.

Verdict – Cowboys by 8

Result - Storm 15 defeated Cowboys 14

Manly Sea Eagles vs Brisbane Broncos – Saturday night – Suncorp Stadium

There's no doubt the Broncos pack is weakened with the absence of Blair, Glenn and McCullough. Those three (and particularly Blair) play vital roles for the Broncos in defence. Despite that, the Broncos still have four Kangaroos in their starting pack. Wallace and Thaiday step into the starting thirteen while the biggest palindrome in the NRL (Ese'ese) gets a chance to show everyone how big he is and the Thinker gets a chance to find out how to pronounce his surname. Manly are warming into their season but the fact remains that their victories have (mostly) been over the teams that are struggling even more than they are. I'm tempted to back the Sea Eagles with the handicap start, but I can't back them to win.

Verdict – Broncos by 7

Result - Broncos 30 defeated Sea Eagles 6

Newcastle Knights vs Cronulla Sharks – Sunday afternoon – Hunter Stadium

Anyone tipping the Knights to beat the Sharks hasn't been paying attention. The Sharks are $1.18 favourites on Sunday, and while $1.18 rarely looks like value in this competition I'm feeling tempted. Sharks = very good things.

Verdict – Sharks by 22

Result - Sharks 62 defeated Knights 0

Wests Tigers vs Canterbury Bulldogs – Sunday afternoon – ANZ Stadium

I assume this is one of those Sunday games Will Hopoate is excused from on religious grounds - that could get very complicated if the Bulldogs make the finals. The Perrett brothers return to fill the void. The Tigers regular fullback is also unavailable for a few weeks with a shoulder injury. More important perhaps is the return of prop forwards Aaron Woods and Tim Grant - when you're facing the Bulldogs you want every prop forward you can get. Woods and Grant will earn their keep on Sunday, but they may find themselves a run short at the business end given their lack of match fitness. The Bulldogs are shorter than they should be, and I'm a little concerned with the inability of their halves to convert field position into points, but I'll tip them here. If they fail to deliver this weekend I may not tip them again.

Verdict – Bulldogs by 2

Result - Bulldogs 36 defeated Tigers 4

Gold Coast Titans vs Sydney Roosters – Monday night – Cbus Super Stadium

One big win over the Knights and the world seems convinced the Chooks are back. They might be, but they might not be either. Mitchell Pearce is a week-to-week proposition it seems, and he has to keep it together for much of the weekend on the Gold Coast before kick-off. We'll see how he goes. The Titans were awful last round but in that round we saw both the Tigers and Warriors bounce back from demoralising losses with impressive victories. I'm punting on the Titans rebounding off that horrible loss to the Storm with a vastly improved performance. They've shown plenty of competitive spirit this season and I'm optimistic we'll see it again. The Titans are underdogs (like Turnbull and Shorten) but sometimes the underdog salutes (like Turnbull.....or Shorten).

Verdict – Titans by 4

Result - Titans 26 defeated Roosters 6

Wally Lewis - round ten selections (in bold)

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

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