Redcliffe Dolphins vs Sydney Roosters – Friday night – Suncorp Stadium

Congratulations to the mighty mighty Dolphins, through to a preliminary final in their fourth season in the NRL. They'll likely sell out the stadium on Friday night - not bad when fans on the peninsula have a two hour public transport trek to and from the game. It makes sense that they have to beat the Roosters to make the grand final, the first team they played in the competition. Artie Beetson will be holding up the corner of a bar somewhere, looking on proudly. These sides have already met twice and the Dolphins won both convincingly. In round 15, it was 48-10, and while the Roosters were without their Origin reps neither were the Dolphins. That was the last time they played at Suncorp. In round 26 they met in Sydney, and the Dolphins won 26-12. In that contest the line-ups were virtually identical to Friday night. The only notable difference is the addition of Radley to the starting thirteen for the away side. A miraculous return from injury for Walker, and he clearly adds something to their line-up. If he plays in that week one final against the Panthers they likely win, so it's worth the punt to put him out there. The Chooks have four forwards on the bench, so if Walker gets injured early they're in a bit of a pickle. That risk, recent results between these sides, and a packed and mostly one-sided crowd, I'm tipping the Phins to make their first NRL grand final.

Verdict - Dolphins by 4

Penrith Panthers vs Newcastle Knights – Sunday afternoon – Accor Stadium

Déjà vu for NRL fans, with the Panthers on the cusp of appearing in their sixth grand final in seven years. Fair dynasty that, and they're a very warm favourite to get there. The Knights have done an extraordinary job after collecting the wooden spoon last season, and much (but not all) of the credit goes to the coach. Of the four teams remaining, the Knights are the team that have had their roster troubled most by injury, but they're still here. They could absolutely win this and not surprise me, particularly if Cleary has issues with his troublesome foot. I expect the Knights (through Ponga and Best) will target Talagi in the centres and again, I would not be surprised if that works. Ponga is arguably in the form of this career, but he'll need to be against this miserly Panthers defence. I'm tipping the Panthers, primarily because they dominated the Knights in round 8 at Newcastle. Additionally, no club has more finals experience than the Panthers, and that can go a long way under these circumstances.

Verdict - Panthers by 7

Wally Lewis - week three finals selections (in bold)

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

• DOLPHINS (3rd) vs Roosters (4th)
• PANTHERS (1st) vs Knights (7th)