Cronulla Sharks vs Redcliffe Dolphins – Friday night – Sharks Stadium

Many of you would know that the mighty mighty Dolphins are an important part of my Origin story, and many of you know that the Sharks are my least favourite team in the NRL. With both those things in mind, it brings me no pleasure whatsever to tip the Sharks on Friday night. I certainly can't tip the Sharks on recent form - one win from their last five games, and that one win was over the Dragons. In their four losses they conceded 146 points, and the Dolphins are scoring more points than all but one other team. In their last three wins the Dolphins have cracked the half century, and they've won four of the last five. Based on all that, the Dolphins seem the logical way to go, but two things have me leaning the other way. Firstly, the Dolphins have so many missing from their middle, and that is an area of strength for the Sharks. Secondly, the Sharks home crowd - a collection of the Eastern Seaboards most parochial and rat-like humans - will be doing whatever they can to give their side a lift. Happy to be wrong about this one, but I suspect the home side will scramble their way to a narrow victory in this.

Verdict - Sharks by 1

Result  - Sharks 24 defeated Dolphins 12

Newcastle Knights vs Melbourne Storm – Saturday afternoon – McDonald Jones Stadium

It's safe to assume that Munster won't be playing on Saturday, and I don't expect Grant or Loiero (whose performance on Wednesday night didn't get a lot of attention but was first class) to play either. Papenhuyzen is a welcome return for the visitors, and it's good to see Howarth back on the reserves list. The Knights have lost their two most dynamic attacking players in successive weeks (Sharpe and Ponga) which is far from ideal when you're a team that have struggled in attack all season. The Storm haven't been humming on all cylinders but they have now won three away games in a row - it feels like they're improving at the right time of the year. A top two finish is now on the cards, and these are the sort of games they simply have to win to keep that plan on track.

Verdict - Storm by 8

Result - Storm 32 defeated Knights 14

St George Illawarra Dragons vs Sydney Roosters – Saturday night – Jubilee Stadium

A cast of thousands returning for the Chooks it seems. All five Origin players have been named, and they welcome back Walker, Radley and Smith. A depleted Roosters line-up fell just short against the Tigers last week and in doing so slipped out of the top eight. A win over one of the teams in that logjam for positions between 5th and 12th is particularly valuable. The Dragons welcome back Holmes, Leilua and Stewart on Saturday night, and they weren't far off the pace in their narrow loss to the Raiders in Canberra. A closer contest than many may assume but I expect the class of the Roosters to get them home.

Verdict - Roosters by 4

Result - Roosters 31 defeated Dragons 24

North Queensland Cowboys vs Canterbury Bulldogs – Saturday night – Queensland Country Bank Stadium

Tom Deardon has been named to back up from his player of the match heroics, as are Nanai, Cotter and Robson. Nanai played just 4 minutes on Wednesday so he should be fine, but slightly more doubt surrounding Robson and Cotter (who played the full 80). Crichton, King and Mann look likely to play for the Bulldogs. So too Kiraz, who was 18th man for NSW. No team has conceded more points than the Cowboys this season, and they've conceded 188 points in their last five games. If defence wins premierships, the Cowboys are way off the mark. To win this, they'll need to score more than they concede, a fair challenge against the team that have conceded the least points this season. With the Cowboys missing a few forwards, and with Cotter and Robson potentially backing up from a decent toil mid-week, I'm with the Bulldogs to get the job done.

Verdict - Bulldogs by 8

Result - Bulldogs 12 defeated Cowboys 8

New Zealand Warriors vs Wests Tigers – Sunday afternoon – Go Media Stadium

The last time the Tigers won in New Zealand was way back in 2016 - perhaps they need to stay at a different hotel. They'd give themselves some hope here, after knocking off the Roosters last week, and with Koroisau and (probably) Luai returning on Sunday. The Warriors will need to get used to a new normal, with Metcalf (who was leading the Dally M count) and Nicoll-Klokstad out for extended periods. Capewill be keen to back up from Origin, but he did get knocked around a bit on Wednesday so keep an eye out for team changes. Watene-Zelezniak returns early from injury and his experience and calm energy will help keep the home side on track. I'm assuming another sold out crowd on Sunday afternoon - I don't even check anymore...it just happens. The Warriors have lost two in a row but their opponents in those games (Broncos, Panthers) look like likely finalists this season. The Tigers are improving, but they're a notch or two below that level. Tipping the home side to bounce back.

Verdict - Warriors by 4

Result - Warriors 34 defeated Tigers 14

Parramatta Eels vs Penrith Panthers – Sunday afternoon – CommBank Stadium

A home game for the Eels, but only a slight advantage there given this is the Panthers home ground this season too. It's likely there will be more Eels fans in the stands though. The Panthers are resting all five of their Origin players on Sunday, but are still a short priced favourite here. These sides met in round 13, with the Panthers the victors 18-10. Not much in that contest, and the Panthers line-up included their Origin stars. That would suggest this game will be closer than most are anticipating, but the Panthers have improved since then and look set to play finals football. A fair effort given they were running last not long ago. The top four looks beyond them, but if they can earn a home game in week one of the finals (potentially against a Queensland team), they'd be very pleased with themselves. Note that the only top eight team the Eels have beaten this season is the Sea Eagles, and they're hanging onto the top eight by their fingertips.

Verdict - Panthers by 8

Result - Panthers 32 defeated Eels 10

Gold Coast Titans vs Brisbane Broncos – Sunday night – CBus Super Stadium

The Broncos were comfortable winners (44-14) when last these sides met, and they haven't lost a game since. They do appear back on track and look likely to make the finals this year - a fair turnaround from how they were travelling mid-season. A long list of key personnel return on Sunday too - Carrigan, Haas (probably), Walsh, Shibesaki and Hunt. A quality roster. Some important inclusions for the Titans too, with Campbell returning and David Fifita back at last after a persistent ankle injury. Fa'asuamaleaui will almost certainly back up unless he can't stand up. He's carrying a heavy load, but it's easier to back up from an Origin series win than a loss. I've no doubt the Titans would love to knock off big brother, but I don't think they have the team to do it.

Verdict - Broncos by 10

Result - Broncos 26 defeated Titans 14

Wally Lewis - round nineteen selections (in bold)

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

• SHARKS vs Dolphins
• Knights vs STORM
• Dragons vs ROOSTERS
• Cowboys vs BULLDOGS
• WARRIORS vs Tigers
• Eels vs PANTHERS
• Titans vs BRONCOS