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.