New Zealand Warriors vs Penrith Panthers 

Mt Smart Stadium, Friday 6pm

Both sides last faced Manly with very different results. The New Zealanders fought right down to the wire before going down 26-22, while Penrith ended Manly’s five game winning streak by 16-8 in a controversial game.

But with both sides still two wins outside of the top eight, a loss in this clash could end their September dreams.

Issac Luke and Solomone Kata come in for New Zealand at the expense of Albert Vete and Nathaniel Roache and Penrith adds James Fisher-Harris to their line up.

One to look out for in the game will be the possible appearance of Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad – a tough name to pronounce but everybody will soon know it. Despite being named as a reserve for this game, he has six tries from six appearances this year. If he plays, New Zealand’s attack gets a whole lot better.

Why New Zealand Warriors will win: Their attacking power easily matches that of Penrith with the likes of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (11 combined tries and try assists this season) and Shaun Johnson (19 combined tries and try assists this season) in their squad. But it’s their defence that gets them over the line in this game with players like Simon Mannering (612 tackles this season) and Bodene Thompson (543 tackles this season) on a roll this season.

Our Tip: New Zealand by four.


Canberra Raiders vs St George Illawarra Dragons

GIO Stadium, Friday 7:50pm

Canberra were thoroughly outplayed in their last game against North Queensland, going down 31-18. Meanwhile St. George couldn’t muster up much of an attack against the Gold Coast and  went down 20-10. Canberra have been in very poor form by their standards this season and as a result sit three wins off a finals berth. A loss here and their season is pretty much over.

The only notable change to Canberra’s squad for this game is Josh Hodgson who return to their starting line-up. For St. George Taane Milne has been named in the starting thirteen while Matthew Duffy makes the bench.

The return of Hodgson will be influential. He has six try assists this season along with two tries from only 15 games. Along with his strong kicking game, he could be the difference between a win or a loss for Canberra.

Why Canberra Raiders will win: Canberra are the type of squad that can put up points in a hurry which is hardly a surprise with the likes of Joseph Leilua (nine tries this season) and Jordan Rapana (14 tries this season) in their team. They are playing against a team which has only scored 10, 10 and 2 points in three of their last four games. 

Our Tip: Canberra by six.