Penrith Panthers vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs @Pepper Stadium, Thursday 7:50pm

The big talking point heading into this fiery encounter is the future of Bulldogs coach Des Hasler, despite earlier this year signing a contract extension his future is still under extreme doubt due to the teams' poor on-field performances this year. With Josh Reynold’s exit already confirmed for the end of the season another could be in the works unless Canterbury get some much needed wins, starting with this game.

What has helped contributed to Hasler’s uncertainty was the result of these two sides earlier this season when Canterbury were smacked 38-0 by Penrith in one of their most disappointing displays of the year. In that game six different players got on the score-sheet for Penrith and unless Canterbury play some defence the score could be similar this time around.

Unfortunately for Penrith one of their standout performers of that day Matt Moylan is unavailable to play and will be replaced in the starting line-up by Tyrone May, a player who has made only one appearance this entire season. Meanwhile for Canterbury influential captain James Graham returns to make their forward pack more intimidating.

Why Penrith will win: They are the only team currently outside of the Top Eight that have a realistic shot of finishing inside it. Given that St George are basically guaranteed a win on the weekend (they are playing against Newcastle) a Penrith loss would leave them two (basically three because of the points difference between them) games out of the Top Eight with only five games remaining. A loss here and their season is over, they won’t let it slip.

Our Tip: Penrith by 20.
 

New Zealand Warriors vs Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks @Mt Smart Stadium, Friday 6:00pm

Interestingly two of the last three games played at Mt Smart Stadium between these two sides have resulted in Cronulla wins and both with 18-14 scorelines. A third would surely be some piece of wonderfully crazy Rugby League history.

The last time these two teams met a James Maloney field-goal in the 87th minute gave Cronulla a dramatic 19-18 win. But for this clash he is sidelined with a broken hand and it remains to be seen how Cronulla will perform without their star five-eighth. How his replacement Fa'amanu Brown goes could go a long way to determining the result of what should be a closely contested clash.

During the week Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan called Paul Gallen the greatest player they’ve ever had, and with the hard-hitting captain trying relentlessly to get his team to catch up to Melbourne in first place, that should give him a little bit of extra motivation to ensure that his coach’s words ring true when he steps out onto the field on Friday night.

Why Cronulla will win: Despite the recent close score lines between the two clubs Cronulla still have a damning history against the Warriors, winning seven of their past nine against them. Through this games they have shown that they have been able to win when the game is going down to the wire but also when they are dominating as evident through 37-6, 28-4 and 45-4 wins during this run. No matter how the result goes down you know that Cronulla will be singing Up, Up Cronulla come full-time.

Our Tip: Cronulla by eight.

Parramatta Eels vs Brisbane Broncos @ANZ Stadium, Friday 7:50pm

Parramatta was supposed to win comfortably last game against the Wests Tigers but instead they were forced to win it in the final minutes courtesy of a late Corey Norman field goal, which was setup by ex-Wests player Mitchell Moses. As Parramatta gear up for their first finals run since 2009 this result couldn’t have given them that much confidence about their abilities and the damage they could potentially cause in the finals. Brisbane, meanwhile, smashed Canterbury 42-12 and are gearing up for their finals run well.

Bevan French has six tries in 12 games this season and will replace one of Parramatta’s best this season Clinton Gutherson at fullback due to injury. This is a massive loss for the Blue & Gold but French will be well-prepared for the role and will be able to lead them from the back.

This season Parramatta have won seven of nine games from ANZ Stadium while four of Brisbane’s six losses this season have come away from home. An upset is brewing in Homebush.

Why Parramatta will win: The Blue & Gold have won their past four games in a row as well as six of their past seven. They are on a roll and with their finals position potentially up for grabs to those below them they’ll just keep on wining to keep that spot intact.

Our Tip: Parramatta by six.
 

Newcastle Knights vs St George Illawarra Dragons @McDonald Jones Stadium, Saturday 3:00pm

In a shocking statistic, dating back to the start of the 2016 NRL season Newcastle have won only three of their past nineteen games at home. So you might think they’re more of a road team then, you’d still be wrong as dating back to the same period they have won a pathetic zero of twenty. Nothing is going right for Newcastle and that should continue into this game.

Newcastle were only down 12-4 last week against Sydney before eventually losing 28-4 in a weak second-half performance. As for St George they became the first team to put up fifty this season as they put Manly to the sword 52-22 in an absolutely dominating display from the home side.

Matthew Dufty was so good on debut last week against Manly in the fullback role that Josh Dugan has been pushed into the centres for this week's clash. Last week he had a try, two try assists, two line-breaks and gained 188 metres. Look for him to back it up again this weekend against a weak side from the Hunter.

Chanel Mata'utia is the only out for Newcastle while the only out for St George is Euan Aitken.

Why St George will win: St George for periods of time this season have been quite poor in attack and that has hindered massively their ability to win games. But heading to the final stage of the season before the finals start they finally look the good scoring 32 and 52 points in two of their last four games. They will beat Newcastle in a rather lopsided score-line.

Our Tip: St George by 16.

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Canberra Raiders @ANZ Stadium, Saturday 5:30pm

Alex Johnston with 15 tries and Cody Walker with 14 try assists are about the only highlights to come from a dismal South Sydney season. While Canberra have massively underperformed as a whole after it was widely regarded they’d make the top four at the end of the season, they’re struggling to stay in 10th place as it is. This game doesn’t mean a whole lot other than the faint hope Canberra have of making the finals.

The massive news heading into this encounter is the five-week suspension given to Sia Soliola for his late and high tackle on Billy Slater during last weeks loss to Melbourne. This tackle has caused a lot of controversy and many thought it should have been longer and he should’ve been sent off for the tackle. The tackle caused Slater to forget the past two weeks of his life as it was that impactful. Will all the media attention surrounding this affect Canberra’s play?

Combined this season the two clubs have only 13 wins and are a combined four of ten from ANZ Stadium. Despite these negative facts the positive is that at least one of the clubs will have something to cheer about come the end of the game, even if it is only a small positive from very underwhelming seasons for both sides.

Why Canberra will win: Given the nature of both sides performances this season it really is a coin toss but Canberra get the nod just ahead of South Sydney due to two reasons. Reason one is, despite losing to Melbourne last week, it was only by six and they still performed very strongly. Reason two is desperation, if they lose here its all over and a mountain of questions will face head coach Ricky Stuart and his team.

Our Tip: Canberra by 10.
 

Sydney Roosters vs North Queensland Cowboys @Allianz Stadium, Saturday 7:30pm

Both Sydney and North Queensland sat comfortably in the winners' column last week while both clubs are trying to secure a spot in the top four. While the past eight clashes between these sides have been split at four wins each. The scene is set for a very close and entertaining clash between two of this seasons best.

Te Maire Martin despite switching clubs mid-season this year has performed admirably. He’ll again be looked up to as Johnathan Thurston is out with an injury. His halves combination with Michael Morgan could be crucial in dictating the result of this game. So far though, they are yet to disappoint.

Earlier in the week it was announced the current stand-in Sydney fullback Connor Watson had signed a deal with Newcastle from next season onwards. Watson is a versatile player and an asset to any club with Sydney no doubt sad to see him go due to his performances for them this year. But it will be interesting to see whether this impacts his play or not as despite not regularly being a starter in any position he’s still of extreme importance to Sydney and what they are trying to achieve this year.

Why Sydney will win: Blake Ferguson. Despite heading into last week's game under a lot of criticism because of his well-publicised drinking session, he proved that it didn’t affect him as he scored the opening try of the game. Despite what you may have to say about him the bloke can play and should again be influential in what will be another Sydney win this season.

Our Tip: Sydney by two.

Melbourne Storm vs Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles @AAMI Park, Sunday 2:00pm

No matter who you go for, last Saturday was a sad day for League fans all round as Billy Slater was taken off on a stretcher after a late hit from Canberra forward Sia Soliola. It was so serious he couldn’t remember the past two weeks of his life. He will be missing this game while Cameron Smith has been named to play despite he himself being under a bit of an injury cloud. In massive news for Manly, all of Blake Green, Apisai Koroisau and Brenton Lawrence have been named to play after missing last weeks clash against St George.

Down in the Northern Beaches the salary cap drama continues to drag on despite Manly’s stance that they have not done anything wrong. It got so bad that captain Dale-Cherry Evans was forced to front the media and deny the allegations himself. Manly coach Trent Barrett has said that he’s tried his best to shield the team from it but how long until it starts to affect them? Up until last week they were pretty resilient but could last weeks loss against St George show that it is finally starting to get to them?

Earlier this season an entertaining game in Lottoland resulted in a 30-26 Melbourne win. We should prepare for more of that this time around as the two best teams of the past decade face off for what should be another great game.

Why Manly will win: When Manly conceded 52 points last week against St George it was the first time that they had put the half-century put against them since 2004. Redeeming themselves is at the fore-front of what Manly will be trying to do this Sunday.

Our Tip: Manly by four.
 

Gold Coast Titans vs Wests Tigers @Cbus Super Stadium, Sunday 4:00pm

Gold Coast were expected to be a dark-horse for this year's top four after 2016's finals appearance. Wests meanwhile were supposed to be challenging for the top eight with their big four of James Tedesco, Mitchell Moses, Luke Brooks and Aaron Woods. Nothing has gone to plan for either team with injuries derailing the Gold Coast's season and likewise selfishness somewhat for Wests' season. This game means nothing in the grand scheme of things yet will mean so much to the clubs playing it as both will desperately want to finish this season on a high.

Last round the Gold Coast battled until the end going down to Penrith 24-16. While for Wests they did the same in an excruciating 17-16 loss to Parramatta. Both sides are slowly but surely building towards next year but both will also render their seasons this year disappointing to say the least.

Tim Grant is a hard-working front-rower who has made just under 300 tackles for Wests this season. In a poor team this season he has been one of the few players who can be happy with their performances throughout the year. He’ll no doubt be racking up a few more tackles this game.

Why Wests will win: Recently Wests coach Ivan Cleary was quoted about how he thought his team had improved this season. He’s on the money as despite the losses still being racked up under him they have shown a bit of toughness and heart under his tutelage. Against a weak opponent that improvement should finally result in a much needed win.

Our Tip: Wests by four.