Melbourne Storm vs Newcastle Knights – Friday night – AAMI Park

The Storm have a team list that's 23 players long so they'll be trimming that between now and Friday. I'm assuming Smith, Cronk and Chambers play until I hear otherwise – none of them gave any indication they were injured on Wednesday night. Cameron Smith made just four metres in Origin One with the ball under the arm, which tells you just how dominant the NSW forward pack were. Given the size and talent in the Storm pack he and Cronk should have a little more room to work with on Friday night. 1st plays 16th, and 1st are playing at home. Purple picks itself.

Verdict – Storm by 10

Result – Storm by 28

Parramatta Eels vs New Zealand Warriors – Friday night – ANZ Stadium

Two teams that don't know how to play for 80 minutes are playing each other, so prepare yourselves for a topsy turvy match with plenty of momentum changes. Both sides are notoriously inconsistent, but if there's one consistency I can rely on it's that the Warriors struggle all too often away from home. They haven't won a game in Australia this season and, somewhat surprisingly, this is just their second visit to ANZ Stadium since their 2011 Grand Final loss to Manly (when Keiran Foran was playing against the Warriors). Clearly you can't tip either of these sides with any confidence but the Eels did enough to get the win in round 12 and I'm tipping them again.

Verdict – Eels by 4

Result – Eels by 8

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

The Dragons have won just one from three without Gareth Widdop but the statistics don't tell the whole tale. Those two losses were competitive and they happened to be against the top two teams (and the two grand finalists from 2016). Widdop has been named this weekend but it wouldn't surprise me if they waited one more week. These sides met in round five at this venue and in this timeslot and the Dragons won comfortably. Tedesco and Woods are set to return from Origin but even then this Tigers outfit looks far from settled. New recruit Lolohea slots straight into the halves with Littlejohn and that combination may take time. Dragons...comfortably so.

Verdict – Dragons by 10

Result – Dragons by 4

Sydney Roosters vs Brisbane Broncos – Saturday night – Allianz Stadium

Of all the games this weekend this is clearly the contest most dirupted by the Origin game. Six Broncos and five Roosters played on Wednesday night and we wait to see how many back up three days later. Napa, Pearce, Ferguson and Milford must have some doubts over them and there could be others. McCullough is an important inclusion for the Broncos and Hunt should be better for the run last week. The Chooks are a warm favourite but I'm with the Broncos here on the assumption that the Broncos back row of Thaiday, Gillett and McGuire all play. The Roosters haven't lost many games this year but they did get towelled up by the Broncos in round six, and the Broncos record at Allianz Stadium is a lot better than most would expect.

Verdict – Broncos by 4

Result – Roosters by 2

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

If Kevin Walters is looking for some up-and-coming Origin forwards (and he probably should be) then he should be watching this game to see how Jarrod Wallace and Coen Hess perform. I was sorely tempted to pick the Titans here, but I've been won over by the Cowboys back row (and solid interchange) in the end. Thurston has been named (almost) but you can't imagine he would play. O'Neill may be in doubt for the Cowboys but they have Hampton or Bowen on their list to slot in if need be. Peats may not back up for the Titans either, and he's a little harder to replace. I'm not particularly confident here. If you were considering the Titans don't let me talk you out of it.

Verdict – Cowboys by 4

Result – Cowboys by 12

Manly Sea Eagles vs Canberra Raiders – Sunday afternoon – Lottoland

The bookies and everyone else are finding this game hard to split but I'm seeing green. The Raiders have a settled line-up, are close to full strength and daytime conditions help their cause. While I accept they lost to the Knights on a Sunday afternoon I'm assuming they took their opponent lightly on the day. I can't see them taking the Sea Eagles lightly. Looks like the game of the round to my eye.

Verdict – Raiders by 8

Result – Sea Eagles by 1

Canterbury Bulldogs vs Penrith Panthers – Sunday afternoon – ANZ Stadium

The Bulldogs would be thankful that Hopoate has agreed to play on Sundays because they need all the help they can get, particularly if Brett Morris can't overcome his Origin niggles. In their last five outings the Dogs have averaged just 13.5 points per game and this is their primary issue they need to resolve. The Panthers have made some pretty significant changes to their line-up – Moylan moves into the halves alongside Cleary and Mitch Rein starts at hooker for the injured Peter Wallace. Whatever the line-up, you know the Panthers have points in them, and the return of Josh Mansour on the wing doesn't hurt either. The 4pm kick-off lends itself to expansive attacking football too, only bolstering the Panthers cause. Dogs vs Cats. Meow!

Verdict – Panthers by 4

Result – Panthers by 38

Wally Lewis - round thirteen selections (in bold)

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

• STORM vs Knights
• EELS vs Warriors
• DRAGONS vs Tigers
• ROOSTERS vs Broncos
• COWBOYS vs Titans
• Sea Eagles vs RAIDERS
• Bulldogs vs PANTHERS