New Zealand Warriors vs Penrith Panthers @Mt Smart Stadium

Friday, 6:00pm

In their last game the New Zealander’s fought right down to the wire before going down to Manly, 26-22. For Penrith in their last game they were on the right side of a controversial game as they stopped Manly’s five game winning streak by a score line of 16-8. Both sides currently sit two wins outside of the Top Eight, whoever loses that could be their September dreams dashed.

For New Zealand into their starting thirteen comes Issac Luke and Solomone Kata. While their only two outs are Albert Vete and Nathaniel Roache. In for Penrith comes James Fisher-Harris. He is the only major in or out for them.

Matt Moylan

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad is a name that is hard to pronounce but soon everybody will know it. Despite being named as a reserve for this game he has six tries this year from six appearances. 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 as they went down 31-18. Meanwhile St. George in their game couldn’t muster up much of an attack as they went down 20-10 to the Gold Coast. Canberra have been in very poor form by their standards this season and as a result sit three wins of a finals berth, a loss here and it’s safe to say their season is pretty much over.

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

Josh Hodgson

The return of Josh Hodgson is indeed an influential one. He has six try assists this season along with two tries from only fifteen 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. This comes as no 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 that has only scored 10, 10 and two points in three of their last four games.

Our Tip: Canberra by six.

Newcastle Knights vs Brisbane Broncos @McDonald Jones Stadium

Saturday, 5:30pm

Newcastle led Canterbury 18-8 with five minutes left in the game. Come full-time they have lost 20-18. Brock Lamb had a shocking game and Newcastle imploded for all to see. As for Brisbane in a game that was supposed to showcase two top four teams only one of them showed up as they were absolutely hammered by Melbourne 42-12. Newcastle need a win against the Origin weary Brisbane side to be any hope of avoiding a third consecutive Wooden Spoon.

Dane Gagai has been named to play for Newcastle. For Brisbane David Mead has been omitted from the squad due to injury.

Dane Gagai

Ben Hunt only a few weeks ago was in reserve grade. On Wednesday night he was part of a winning Origin team. He has had a whirl-wind season this year but will play against Newcastle with somewhat of an intent to justify his selection in the squad ahead of the likes of Dale Cherry-Evans and Corey Norman.

Why Brisbane Broncos will win: Newcastle’s last two games have both come against teams in the bottom four. If they couldn’t win those to try and avoid the Wooden Spoon then theirs next to no chance that they’ll beat a start-studded Brisbane side. Newcastle will be lucky to even get close to Brisbane.

Our Tip: Brisbane by 20.