North Queensland Cowboys vs Melbourne Storm – Thursday night – Queensland Country Bank Stadium

First and foremost, congratulations to the 2024 minor premiers. That's the fifth J.J. Giltinan Shield for the Melbourne Storm, quite a feat for a team in an AFL-obsessed state. They're resting 11 of their regular first graders for this match - controversial if you ask some people but it makes sense to me (full disclosure: I had a rare bet on the Cowboys to win this game before the team lists came out, so I'm a little bit biased). Despite that, they still have a spine that includes Wishart, Munster and Papenhuyzen, so we can hardly call this team the Norths Devils. That said, the assignment is a lot easier for the Cowboys now. They also welcome back Nanai and Taumalolo...handy inclusions. There's some chance this is the last home game for Kyle Feldt. With Feldt and Granville departing at season's end, there's just the one player remaining from their 2015 premiership side (the other JT). Thursday night isn't an awesome scheduling slot for the Cowboys home games as a rule, but I expect a fair crowd on hand to say goodbye to two of their favourite sons.

Verdict – Cowboys by 10

Result – Cowboys 38 defeated Storm 30

Canterbury Bulldogs vs Manly Sea Eagles – Friday night – Accor Stadium

Speaking of crowds, they should rack up a decent number at this fairly hideous stadium on Friday night. Most will be Bulldogs fans of course, as Manly fans don't like to leave their corner of the world unless they really have to (to be fair, it's a nice corner). Manly have a tremendous record over the Bulldogs in recent years (nine wins from their last ten games), but the capitulation last week to the team running last doesn't read well. It was another reminder that their record away from Brookvale is very poor. To make matters worse, they face a team that hasn't lost a home game all season. The Bulldogs will be without two of their best on Friday night (Crichton and Mann), but they have winning momentum and I doubt that Manly have the defence to stop them.

Verdict – Bulldogs by 7

Result – Sea Eagles 34 defeated Bulldogs 22

Penrith Panthers vs South Sydney Rabbitohs – Friday night – BlueBet Stadium

Cameron Murray was unsuccessful at the judiciary this week, so his season is over. A replacement is yet to be named. Cody Walker returns from suspension which helps a bit. The Rabbitohs had a brief mid-season resurgence but since then have lost 7 of their last 8, and they are clearly limping to the finish line. To think that Jack Wighton left a club he loved to earn less money with a team he thought might win a premiership. The Panthers have lost two games in a row and that doesn't happen very often. They've clearly come down a notch or two from the imposing unit they've been in recent seasons, but that's hardly surprising given the injuries to their halfback and the whiteanting of their roster by other clubs. Mitch Kenny and Paul Alamoti return this week, which helps. Note that in round 9 the Panthers played the Rabbitohs without Cleary and won 42-12. I'm expecting a similar result here, and the home ground advantage will help them deliver.

Verdict – Panthers by 34

Result – Panthers 34 defeated Rabbitohs 12

Parramatta Eels vs St George Illawarra Dragons – Saturday afternoon – CommBank Stadium

As per last week, the Dragons finals prospects are in their own hands, but it didn't help much last week. Granted, the Sharks are a harder opponent than the Eels, but I expected more from them playing at home in their annual grudge match. This venue was once a fortress for the Eels, but they've lost their last four at CommBank. Notably, three of those losses were against top four teams (Roosters, Storm, Panthers), so they should find this easier. They went close in that Panthers game, until ten minutes of Cleary magic stole victory away from them. They didn't miss by much against the Broncos in Brisbane last week either. If they can keep it together for 80 minutes they can spring an upset here.

Verdict – Eels by 1

Result – Eels 44 defeated Dragons 40

Redcliffe Dolphins vs Brisbane Broncos – Saturday night – Suncorp Stadium

I can guarantee you fireworks at the latest installment of the Battle for Brisbane...or is it the Battle of Brisbane? Not just because Kaufusi is likely to clock someone a little high and late at some point. Saturday night is Riverfire in Brisbane, and they've included ten minutes of colourful sky sparks above and around Lang Park at the conclusion of this game. I have no idea what happens if this goes to golden point - just play through them I suppose. It's 9th versus 10th and the scriptwriters have come up with a compelling scenario. If the Dragons can lose earlier in the day this game becomes all the more important. The winner can keep on dreaming of finals football, while the loser can start plotting their off-season silliness. Keep an eye out for late team changes for both sides, with both coaches playing three dimensional mind chess with each other in the lead-up. Haas has been named on the reserves for the Broncos, and may get called in if he gets through a training session this morning (Wednesday). I can hear them going through their paces as I write, so stay tuned for updates there. Even if Haas doesn't play, the Broncos do look like they have an edge in the forwards on Saturday. There's not a lot of seats left for this game, so assume a 40000+ crowd, and the Broncos are likely to have a little more of the support.

Verdict – Broncos by 4

Result – Dolphins 40 defeated Broncos 6

Cronulla Sharks vs New Zealand Warriors – Saturday night – PointsBet Stadium

The last game of the season for the Warriors, and the last game ever for Shaun Johnson. It's fortuitous that the game is between the only two clubs he played with. The Warriors don't have much else to play for, but at least they have that. The Sharks are some hope of a top two finish so they'll give their all. Katoa and Talakai return on Saturday, and there's some chance Nicho Hynes could lace on the boots too. They dominated the Dragons last week and even their biggest doubter (me, probably) has to concede they're a genuine top four team this year. Now they just have to win a final.

Verdict – Sharks by 16

Result – Warriors 30 defeated Sharks 28

Newcastle Knights vs Gold Coast Titans – Sunday afternoon – McDonald Jones Stadium

By the time the Knights take to the field on Sunday, the three teams directly above them will have already played their round 26 matches. With two winnable games at home, the Knights are every chance to leapfrog the lot of them and take the last finals slot for the season. They have to win of course, and they've only won two of their last six. Those wins were against the teams running 15th and 17th, so we shouldn't assume they're a certainty on Sunday. The Knights did beat the Titans in Magic Round, but there wasn't much in that. The key differences this time around are the venue (particularly on a Sunday afternoon) and the fact that the Knights have plenty to play for. The Titans, not so much, and I really need to stop tipping them. I'm a slow learner.

Verdict – Knights by 14

Result – Knights 36 defeated Titans 14

Sydney Roosters vs Canberra Raiders – Sunday afternoon – Allianz Stadium

The Raiders pulled off a genuine upset knocking off the defending premiers last week, but taking that form on the road is often the challenge. This year they've won just three games away from home, and their last away win was back in round 13 against the Dolphins (and they were pretty lucky there). This will be harder, and the Roosters are yet to lose to a team outside the top eight all season. They have already accounted for the Raiders comfortably in round 12 (44-16). If that was the result in Canberra, it's likely we'll see a similar result at the Roosters favourite venue.

Verdict – Roosters by 22

Result – Raiders 14 defeated Roosters 12

Wally Lewis - round twenty six selections (in bold)

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

• COWBOYS vs Storm
• BULLDOGS vs Sea Eagles
• PANTHERS vs Rabbitohs
• Eels vs DRAGONS
• Dolphins vs BRONCOS
• SHARKS vs Warriors
• KNIGHTS vs Titans
• ROOSTERS vs Raiders