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

It's never been more important for your team to have a good fullback, and I mean a bloody good fullback. Every player wearing the number one jersey in the NRL this weekend has been racking up tries this season...but one. Will Hopoate, bless him, is in grave danger of facing the nudie run this season. To go along with his 0 tries he has made just one line break this year. It's not a good look, particularly when you consider that the Rabbitohs haven't had a great season either, but their fullback on Thursday night has 17 tries and 13 line breaks this season. Hopoate clearly isn't the only reason the Bulldogs are struggling this year, but he's on the list of reasons. That Bulldogs forward pack is first class, and if your backs can't create tries on the back of that pack something is clearly wrong. This is the fourth successive Thursday night game for the Bulldogs and they have been terrible and terribly boring every single time. Channel Nine must be shaking their heads in dismay.

Verdict – Rabbitohs by 8

Result – Rabbitohs by 14

Parramatta Eels vs Newcastle Knights – Friday night – ANZ Stadium

It's not often a team running last would have smiles on their faces, but the Knights dressing shed would be a slightly happier place at the minute. Back-to-back wins for the first time since forever and a bunch of young locals getting better each and every week. There's half a dozen teams in the NRL that could learn a thing or two from the team running last. While they can't win on Friday night, they will give a good account of themselves and that makes this game a heck of a lot more watchable than the Thursday night grind. The Eels are on a roll and have a sweet run into the finals. Top four looks likely now but I think they should try to aim one spot higher. Top four means your first final will probably be against the Storm in Melbourne. I'm sure they would rather play a Sydney team in Sydney.

Verdict – Eels by 14

Result – Eels by 19

Brisbane Broncos vs Cronulla Sharks – Friday night – Suncorp Stadium

Both sides will have plenty to play for in this – assuming the Eels beat the Knights, the team that loses this game slips out of the top four. Right now the Sharks are paying $3.00 to win this game and here are three reasons why they can pull off an upset:

1. They've played nine games away from home this season and they've won eight of them (their only away loss was that underwater game on the Gold Coast). Those away victories include wins over three genuine contenders this season – Storm, Roosters and Eels.
2. The Sharks were pretty ordinary last start and they know it. They have a habit of bouncing back from a poor performance.
3. Paul Gallen is king of the nub-nubs but he's playing his 300th game on Friday night – I expect his team will lift.

The Broncos were great to watch against the Titans, but you have to question the willingness of their opponent in that game. The Sharks will be willing, and I think they are willing and able to pull off an upset. Note the return of Maloney – just on goal-kicking alone he helps the Sharks in what I assume will be a tight contest.

Verdict – Sharks by 2

Result – Sharks by 22

St George Illawarra Dragons vs Gold Coast Titans – Saturday afternoon – UOW Jubilee Oval

Dragons coach Mary McGregor hasn't had much of a fortnight – a loss to the Knights, a $10000 fine, an extraordinary loss to the Rabbitohs and his team have fallen out of the top eight. I've a feeling they'll win here, but mainly because I feel like the Titans have given up. The Titans did beat the Dragons in round 17, but the Titans were well and truly trying then. I could easily have this wrong, but I'm with the Red V in front of their faithful army.

Verdict – Dragons by 8

Result – Dragons by 26

Melbourne Storm vs Sydney Roosters – Saturday night – AAMI Park

First plays second in the game of the round, but I do feel like there's quite the gap between first and second this season. Two rounds back I raised my doubts about the Roosters credentials and the Chooks got up and won after looking wobbly early on (Thinker shakes fist). Then I decided I must have been wrong about them, tipped them last weekend and they were pretty darn ordinary (Thinker shakes fist again). Perhaps I was right to doubt, but I do note that they are a vastly improved seventeen with Cordnor and Friend back on the paddock. That's not enough for this doubting Thomas though – Cameron 'The Accountant' Smith will note the ladder positions going into this game, he'll crunch the numbers and he'll work out that winning this game all but seals the minor premiership for the purple machine. Smith likes trophies.

Verdict – Storm by 7

Result – Storm by 3

Penrith Panthers vs North Queensland Cowboys – Saturday night – Pepper Stadium

Some games are crunchier than others, and this is a real crunch game for the Cowboys. A loss here and I have them slipping to eighth on the ladder, and the teams in 9th and 10th will be just two points behind. The Cowboys haven't had to spend too much time in Sydney this season (for the sake of an argument I'm calling Penrith as Sydney...close enough surely). This will be just their fourth game in the harbour city and their three previous visits have resulted in two losses (to the Sharks and Roosters) and one win (over the Bulldogs). This is the toughest opponent the Panthers have faced in a while but they have won five in a row. They lost to the Cowboys by just two points in Townsville, and I'll bank on home ground advantage getting them over the line on this occasion.

Verdict – Panthers by 4

Result – Panthers by 8

New Zealand Warriors vs Canberra Raiders – Sunday afternoon – Mt Smart Stadium

Tallking about the Warriors just makes me cranky so I won't be saying much, but I will say this – Ryan Hoffman is back this week and maybe, just maybe, he can talk his troops into putting in half an effort on Sunday. That's the only glimmer of light I can see for the home side here. Bah!.

Verdict – Raiders by 14

Result – Raiders by 20

Wests Tigers vs Manly Sea Eagles – Sunday afternoon – Leichhardt Oval

Manly are in seventh place on the ladder and the teams in 6th and 8th are playing each other on Saturday night. If the Cowboys lose the Sea Eagles can move into 6th place with a win. If the Panthers lose the Sea Eagles can put a four point gap on their nearest rival. Either way a win shores up their finals prospects. Their performance against the Roosters indicated that they've found their mojo. Back the total points overs if you're into that sort of thing – this game looks like one of those 44-26 kinda scorelines (weather permitting).

Verdict – Sea Eagles by 16

Result – Tigers by 4

Wally Lewis - round twenty three selections (in bold)

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

• RABBITOHS vs Bulldogs
• EELS vs Knights
• BRONCOS vs Sharks
• DRAGONS vs Titans
• STORM vs Roosters
• PANTHERS vs Cowboys
• Warriors vs RAIDERS
• Tigers vs SEA EAGLES