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.

 

Melbourne Storm vs Parramatta Eels @AAMI Park, Saturday 7:30pm

Melbourne will be trying to hold onto top spot with a host of players missing against the Eels. Billy Slater, Cameron Smith, Cameron Munster, Cooper Cronk, Tim Glasby and Will Chambers are all on Queensland duty ahead of Origin III, so the likes of Jahrome Hughes, Brodie Croft and Slade Griffin all come in.

Croft, just 19, will be full of confidence after stepping up with a match-winning field goal recently against North Queensland Cowboys when Cronk was again away with the Maroons.

Parramatta will be hoping to take advantage and get a win to boost their chances of a first top-eight finish since 2009. They are currently in eighth thanks to a piece of Mitchell Moses magic in extra time to get them a 13-12 win over Canterbury Bulldogs last weekend. Defeat against the Storm will leave them looking over their shoulder at the likes of Panthers, Warriors and Rabbitohs.

Why Melbourne will win: Melbourne showed in a one-point defeat away against the Roosters that they can still perform when their Origin players are unavailable, so don’t discount them this weekend. The Storm have won eight of their last nine games at home, so the atmosphere at AAMI Park could be crucial.

Our Tip: Melbourne by four.

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs vs Newcastle Knights @Belmore Sports Ground, Sunday 4pm

This will be an emotional game for local boy Josh Reynolds who plays his final game at Belmore as a Bulldog before his move to the Tigers next season. The club are marking the occasion by renaming the hill in Reynolds’ honour for the day and will hand out face masks of the popular five-eighth to fans.

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The Bulldogs will want the crowd to give them a boost as they battle desperately for a place in the top eight. An overtime defeat last time against Parramatta increased the chances of them missing the finals for the first time under coach Des Hasler. Another loss against the struggling Knights and their season will effectively be over.

The Knights, rock bottom and on the back of a 33-12 home defeat against fellow strugglers Wests Tigers, must do without Dane Gagai who is on Origin duty. Joe Wardle replaces him in the starting line-up. Bulldogs are missing Brett Morris, David Klemmer and Josh Jackson, with Marcelo Montoya, Raymond Faitala-Mariner and Sam Kasiano coming in

Why Canterbury will win: It’s a flip of a coin here really as both teams have largely under-performed this season. Canterbury only gets the nod because of the Josh Reynolds factor.

Our Tip: Canterbury by 10.