Canterbury Bulldogs vs St George Illawarra Dragons – Thursday night – Accor Stadium

I've found it difficult to get up and running this round, primarily because this game really has me sitting on the fence. Both sides have improved this season (coming off a pretty low base) and it's difficult to say who has improved the most. For the Bulldogs, Burton, Crichton and Addo-Carr are in the Origin discussion while Dragons Lomax, Hunt and Su'A are in the Origin frame. Lomax and Addo-Carr look set to line up against each other on Thursday, which will make for an interesting contest. I've ended up tipping the Bulldogs for three reasons - their recent record against the Dragons, the Dragons under-performance away from home and at this venue, and the fact that the Bulldogs have been able to beat and compete with top eight teams this year. The Dragons have played three top eight sides this season (Knights, Roosters, Sharks) and lost them all. In two of those games they could only manage 10 points in attack, and in the one game they did better than that they conceded 60. The Thursday night scheduling will probably keep crowd numbers down which is a tad disappointing - this game might have drawn 25000 on a Friday night.

Verdict – Bulldogs by 4

Result – Bulldogs 44 defeated Dragons 12

North Queensland Cowboys vs Wests Tigers – Friday night – Queensland Country Bank Stadium

Perhaps the most frustrating team this season - the Cowboys look like a side that are close to breaking out and reaching their potential, but it hasn't happened yet. They'll take some confidence out of a victory last week, but a 6 point victory over the team running last is no reason for Cowboys fans to start booking flights to Sydney for the grand final just yet. They can claim another scalp on Friday night, but again, not the strongest competition here. The Tigers have lost both their starting centres (Olam and Naden) with Casey and Feledy as replacements. Deardon has been trying to put Holmes into gaps all year and they'll have no better chance to perfect that play than here. Holmes has had a frustrating season by his standards, and this is an opportunity for him to find some form while Billy Slater is watching. Back him with confidence to score a try on Friday night. He might even score a few. There's a fistful of Cowboys in the mix for Queensland Origin selection - it's time to shine.

Verdict – Cowboys by 22

Result – Cowboys 42 defeated Tigers 28

Manly Sea Eagles vs Melbourne Storm – Friday night – 4 Pines Park

The Sea Eagles appears to be in free-fall with three consecutive losses, but it's not quite as catastrophic as some may make it out to be. The margins in those three losses were 2, 6 and 1, and all were against top eight teams. Their biggest loss all season has been by 8 points, so they are clearly a competitive squad. They're also a much better side at Brookvale, a venue where they have beaten the Roosters and the Panthers this season. They're a chance here. The Storm have named Hughes to return this week but he could easily be a late withdrawal. His inclusion (or exclusion) is a big factor, so worth keeping your eye out for team changes here. Storm fans grimaced with Munster when he went down with a groin injury just before half time last week, but they actually played better without him. It was almost as if a restricted Munster was holding them back up until that point. A game that I expect will be closer than most are assuming, but the Storm are winning the close contests, and the Sea Eagles aren't.

Verdict – Storm by 2

​​​​​​​Result – Sea Eagles 26 defeated Storm 20

Canberra Raiders vs Sydney Roosters – Saturday afternoon – GIO Stadium

The first of three really interesting games on Saturday, with the 6th placed Raiders returning home to face the 7th placed Roosters. Canberra were good enough to knock off the Bulldogs last weekend, even with two players sin binned (and briefly fielding just 11 players). Their formidable forward park has been diminished somewhat with Papalii unavailable, but it's still a fair pack. They've also unearthed a genuine playmaking prospect in teenager Ethan Strange. The future looks bright for the Raiders if they can keep him in the capital. The Raiders are always a difficult team to beat at home in the winter months, but the daytime schedule will help the visitors, and the weather doesn't look too bad by Canberra standards. The Raiders have also struggled against the better sides this year, and I'm happy to call the Roosters a better side. They weren't far off the Sharks last weekend, and they're a much better side with Joey Manu in the backline. I'll be steering well clear of commenting on the video of a bunch of Chooks that is doing the rounds.

Verdict – Roosters by 8

​​​​​​​Result – Roosters 44 defeated Raiders 16

Cronulla Sharks vs Penrith Panthers – Saturday night – PointsBet Stadium

The Sharks have answered the critics (me, mostly) and racked up successive victories over proper football teams with wins over the Storm in Melbourne and the Roosters in Brisbane. Now they head back to their tiny home ground which probably sold out long before any Panthers fans could get a ticket. The Panthers would be spewing after that loss to the Warriors, and their coach was obviously not a happy man after the game. If they took the Warriors lightly they won't make the same mistake here. The bookmakers have the Panthers as the outsider on Saturday night, and that might be the first time in about three years, but it does make sense. I doubt that the NSW selectors are considering Luai over Hynes, but if they are a dominant Sharks performance on Saturday should put an end to it. Hynes to casually slot a field goal in the last few minutes to shore up the victory and a well-earned Blues jersey.

Verdict – Sharks by 7

​​​​​​​Result – Panthers 42 defeated Sharks 0

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Parramatta Eels – Saturday night – Accor Stadium

Happy birthday Brad Arthur, we made you a cake. Also, you're fired. Not the greatest way to celebrate turning 50, but Arthur took the news with the class he has demonstrated throughout his coaching career. I do hope he returns to the game in some shape or form soon. So the Eels take on the only other team that have sacked their coach this season, in what would usually be a blockbuster clash. Parramatta played like a team that had given up in the second half against the Storm - perhaps they'd received word that their coach was going to get his marching orders, and that Wayne Bennett wasn't coming to save the day. The Rabbitohs have a chance to show Bennett that he made the right choice. Note that Jack Wighton gets a chance to drag this team out of the gutter by pulling on the number six jersey. He won a Clive Churchill medal in a losing side in that position, and I think he can prove the difference on Saturday night.

Verdict – Rabbitohs by 4

​​​​​​​Result – Rabbitohs 42 defeated Eels 26

Brisbane Broncos vs Gold Coast Titans – Sunday afternoon – Suncorp Stadium

A rare Sunday afternoon outing for the Broncos - it's actually their only Sunday game for the season (unless you count Vegas). As such, they're likely to have a bumper crowd, as families get a rare opportunity to take their kids to the game in a friendly timeslot. Some big names look set to return for the Broncos, with Walters and Walsh named to start. Cobbo returns to the centres after showing everyone how versatile he is, while Staggs is rested after hurting a rib in a training session. For the Titans, Kieran Foran has been named on an extended bench and is likely to be rested for another week. The Titans have been competitive in recent weeks but this is a real test - the only teams that have beaten the Broncos this season are the Roosters, Panthers and Storm. That's fair form. 

Verdict – Broncos by 14

​​​​​​​Result – Titans 36 defeated Broncos 34

New Zealand Warriors vs Redcliffe Dolphins – Sunday afternoon – Go Media Stadium

This is just the second time the Dolphins have had to leave Queensland this season (and the first time was to Darwin). This time they're off to New Zealand, and they won't be in NSW until round 15. While that sounds like they've had an easy draw, they've only played one game all year at Redcliffe, so an unusual draw it must be said. They've won three in a row and are looking more and more like a top eight team every week. I for one was pleased to see Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow back on the field, stretching out and scoring tries. He's the most exciting player to watch in the game right now...in my insignificant opinion. The Warriors victory over the Panthers was the highlight of a Magic Round with plenty of highlights. The key players that were missing in that game are still missing on Sunday, but the players they do have will take confidence from the result. They'll go close, but the Dolphins look the goods.

Verdict – Dolphins by 4

​​​​​​​Result – Warriors 24 defeated Dolphins 20

Wally Lewis - round twelve selections (in bold)

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

• BULLDOGS vs Dragons
• COWBOYS vs Tigers
• Sea Eagles vs STORM
• Raiders vs ROOSTERS
• SHARKS vs Panthers
• Rabbitohs vs EELS
• BRONCOS vs Titans
• Warriors vs DOLPHINS