Cronulla Sharks vs St George Illawarra Dragons – Thursday night – Sharks Stadium

Hardly stellar form for either side heading into the local derby - the Sharks losing by 30 at home to the Warriors, while the Dragons lost by 50 to the Dolphins in Brisbane. Eugh! No Origin impacts for the Sharks, while the Dragons will be without Holmes. Flanagan is probably the new goal-kicker, but the Dragons have a few options there. There's a rich history between these sides, but recent results have been fairly one-sided - the Sharks have won the last nine, and 11 of the last 12. The last time the Dragons won a game in Cronulla was nearly nine years ago, and they're not exactly in the sort of form that would have many of us believing they can break the drought. The Sharks have lost Iro, one of many exciting young prospects that have emerged in the NRL this season. He will be missed, but Mulitalo returns from suspension to bolster the backline. I'm sure he'll get under the skin of his opponents on Thursday night, and vice versa.

Verdict - Sharks by 10

Gold Coast Titans vs Manly Sea Eagles – Friday night – Cbus Super Stadium

The players dropped from Origin duty square off on Friday night, with Fermor for the Titans and much-more-mentioned Cherry-Evans for the Sea Eagles. No other Origin reps for Manly, while the Titans lose two key pillars from their engine room in Fa'asuamaleaui and Fotuiaka. That duo are the starting props for the QLD side next week, so it leaves a massive hole in the Titans side for this game. Sadly for the Titans, they've been struggling when those two are available, so this is a mighty challenge. To make it even worse (if that's possible), the Sea Eagles have Tom Trbojevic, Saab and Taukeiaho returning. As per the Thursday night game, we have two teams coming off a loss last week. The Titans have won just 3 games this season, and two of those were against the Knights. This is harder, and it's not easy to find a way to talk yourself into a winning performance for the Titans. Hasler and Foran wanting to knock off their old club? I'm sure they want to. I'm not sure that they can.

Verdict - Sea Eagles by 14

Newcastle Knights vs Sydney Roosters – Saturday night – McDonald Jones Stadium

The Knights have won three of their last six, which isn't bad...for the Knights. Notably, all those games were against teams outside the top eight, but it still isn't bad. The Chooks aren't in the top eight either, but often play like they should be. The Knights coach was having a bit of a whinge recently about the impact of Origin on his team. Given they got to play the Panthers without their five Origin reps, and they now get t play the Roosters without their five Origin reps, he might want to bite his tongue next time. He probably shouldn't be having a crack at the fans of his team either, who are about as loyal as they come. Let's see if he cops a serve from the crowd on Saturday night. Anyhoo, even with home ground advantage and a greatly diminished Roosters line-up the Knights are the outsider here. I don't think there'll be much in this, but there's enough class and attacking firepower in that Roosters backline to get the points. Note that Sam Walker makes his long-awaited return here. Go well, son.

Verdict - Roosters by 4

North Queensland Cowboys vs Redcliffe Dolphins – Saturday night – Queensland Country Bank Stadium

Only one team in the top eight has a negative points differential, and that's the North Queensland Cowboys. In fact, you have to go all the way down to 12th to find a team with a team with a worse points differential. That can matter when you're battling with a whole bunch of teams for spots in the finals, although with the Cowboys scoring a rare draw it may matter a little less. They've conceded 150 points in their last five games, and that's too many. It's particularly concerning when you're taking on a team that's scored 100 points in their last two games. Nearly half of those points were scored against the Bulldogs...in Sydney...in the rain. The Dolphins won't have Tabuai-Fidow on Saturday night, but they didn't have the Hammer when they scored 44 points against the Bulldogs...in Sydney...in the rain. They're a better team if he's available of course, but the Cowboys are missing a fistful of Origin players themselves (Deardon, Robson, Nanai, Cotter). This week the Dolphins advised that three of their most important forwards (Flegler, Gilbert, Saifiti) have been ruled out for the rest of the season. They have some depth in the forwards, but if you could add those three to the roster I'd be calling the Dolphins a premiership threat. That might be beyond them this season, but they're on track to make the NRL finals for the first time this season, and I expect them to win this.

Verdict - Dolphins by 10

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Canterbury Bulldogs – Sunday afternoon – Accor Stadium

Technically a Rabbitohs home game, but they've made it clear that they really don't want to be there, and it's pretty likely the Bulldogs will bring more fans through the turnstiles. These sides have already met at this venue this year, with the "home" team (Bulldogs) prevailing 32-0. That Bulldogs side included their Origin reps (Crichton, Burton, King, Mann) who won't be playing on Sunday, but they still kept the Bunnies scoreless, and that Bunnies team included Mitchell, Walker and Graham, who aren't available this round. The Bunnies have played 8 games this season against top eight teams and lost 6 of them. The two games they did win, were against the teams currently 7th and 8th. They'll be competitive, because they're coached by the best, but it's likely they'll just fall short.

Verdict - Bulldogs by 4

Wally Lewis - round fifteen selections (in bold)

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

• SHARKS vs Dragons
• Titans vs SEA EAGLES
• Knights vs ROOSTERS
• COWBOYS vs Dolphins
• Rabbitohs vs BULLDOGS