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.