South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Manly Sea Eagles – Friday night – ANZ Stadium

This is the third meeting of these sides this year, and thus far the teams have won one game each, and on each occassion the margin was a solitary point. That would indicate we are in for another close contest here. I'm looking to the most recent contest between these two, which was in round 17 when the Bunnies prevailed 21-20. Note that the Sea Eagles scored more tries in that game and the Bunnies didn't score any tries in the second half – it was the kicking boot of Adam Reynolds that got them over the line. The other thing to be mindful of when looking at that round 17 game is how the playing lists have changed for both sides. Manly have added Koroisau at dummy half which is a positive, but they are without Thompson and Sironen in the back row (not that their absence stopped them last week). Perhaps more importantly, here are the players for the Bunnies on Friday that didn't play in round 17:

• Alex Johnstone
• Sam Burgess
• Tom Burgess
• George Burgess
• Ethan Lowe
• Mark Nicholls

That's five very handy forwards and a very dynamic finisher. The return of Taupau for Manly is a huge inclusion, but it looks like the Bunnies have an edge in the middle. If the Rabbitohs forwards can keep it simple and win the yardage battle, I expect Cook, Murray, Walker and Reynolds to get the job done. This is just the second time Manly have played at ANZ all season, and their record at this ground in recent years has been poor.

Verdict – Rabbitohs by 8

Result – Rabbitohs 34 defeated Sea Eagles 26

Melbourne Storm vs Parramatta Eels – Saturday night – AAMI Park

Teams don't crack the 50 point barrier very often. It's only happened four times all season, and the Eels have done it twice. Their 58 points over the Lightning Link Broncos is the equal second highest score for the year. That's the good news. The bad news is that the highest score this season was 64 points...by the Storm...against the Eels. The Storm did that at a neutral ground (although it was at Suncorp where the Storm seem to perform better than at home). I'm not suggesting for a minute that we will see a repeat of that on Saturday night. The Eels were terrific against the Broncos and they have to be heading south with a spring in their step. But the Storm are not the Broncos, and I expect their preparation will be absolutely professional. The Storm have lost just five games all season and the margins in those games have been 1, 2, 1, 4 and 2. I was deluded enough (even if I was right) to tip against them last weekend, but I can't tip against them this time.

Verdict – Storm by 4

Result – Storm 32 defeated Eels 0

Wally Lewis - week two finals selections (in bold)

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

• RABBITOHS vs Sea Eagles
• STORM vs Eels