Sydney Roosters vs South Sydney Rabbitohs @Allianz Stadium, Friday 7:50pm

The Roosters were smashed 44-12 by Cronulla last weekend to drop down to fourth on the ladder and will be hoping to bounce back quickly. The Rabbitohs are making a late push for the top eight thanks to two straight wins, including last week’s 42-14 rout of Penrith that featured five tries for Alex Johnston.

Blake Ferguson, Dylan Napa and Mitchell Pearce are all out for the Roosters on Origin Duty. Mitchell Aubusson, Zane Tetevano and Connor Watson take their places in the starting line-up. Meanwhile for South Sydney, both Kyle Turner and Anthony Cherrington has been named as reserves.

The spotlight will undoubtedly be on Johnston following his club record-equalling five-try haul against the Panthers, which could easily have been even more. He’s touched down 10 times in total this season and will need to be sharp against a relatively mean Roosters defence.

Why South Sydney will win: The Rabbitohs are on a high after smashing Penrith and hope has been restored that they can still reach the finals. Souths also get a massive boost this week with the Roosters line-up decimated thanks to State of Origin call-ups.

Our Tip: South Sydney by 12.

Penrith Panthers vs Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles @Pepper Stadium, Saturday 5:30pm

Daly Cherry-Evans will likely be determined to make his mark, having been controversially overlooked for Queensland’s State of Origin III squad. He’ll want to show Kevin Walters why he was wrong to instead select Ben Hunt, who only a couple of weeks ago was playing reserve grade footy.

DCE has been the main reason why Manly are flying high this season and they will want to keep up the momentum following last weekend’s nailbiting 26-22 win over New Zealand Warriors. For Penrith, the pressure is on for a place in the top eight after a miserable 42-14 defeat against the Rabbitohs.

The Panthers will be missing Dean Whare, who is out with a broken jaw, while into his place comes Tyrone Peachey. Out for Manly is NSW call-up Jake Trbojevic, with Jarrad Kennedy coming in. New Zealand international Lewis Brown is also out for the Maroon and White.

Why Manly will win: They have won their past five games, which is the current best winning streak in the competition. And they should have too much in attack for the Panthers, with Tom Trbojevic and Dylan Walker having 16 tries and 17 assists between them this season.

Our Tip: Manly by six.