Mark Ridell and his 'pretenders' will take on Melbourne this weekend.

The Bulldogs, Roosters and Broncos are all assured of finals football, but for the next group of teams, anything is still possible, particularly premiers Penrith. The Panthers sit in fourth place and while they can be confident of the chance to defend their title, a home final is not assured. Thankfully for those at the foot of the mountains, attrition will set in as those around eight play each other removing themselves from the equation. Like a competitive South Sydney, a Penrith home final is good for rugby league. With the largest junior player base in the country, the Panthers can pack 22,000 people into Penrith Football Stadium and send out cheers that can be heard in Parramatta.

The Penrith faithful were rewarded for several lean seasons with a premiership. Ground records have been broken and re-broken as the local community gets behind their stars. And while Panthers supporters cried foul during the Origin campaign as their ranks were depleted by weekend exclusions, it’s something they will get used to as the successful culture builds at the club. While their have been some demoralising losses in recent times while injuries have set in, their main strike weapons are all on deck, and with the experienced Ryan Girdler still to return, don’t go writing off the men from the foot of the mountains just yet. This weekend will be a litmus test with the Roosters and Broncos still to come on the fixture list.

Friday night football returns to WIN Stadium where the combatants are coming off demoralising losses. St George-Illawarra ran into a red hot North Queensland to drop into seventh spot and the edge of finals oblivion. The Dragons are guaranteed two points from the round 26 bye, but need to start strongly against their final top eight opponents for the season. The Melbourne score line against the Roosters didn’t reflect the closeness of their match last weekend and, with a real chance of snagging a home final but a tough run in, the Storm won’t want to drop these points. With Scott Hill in doubt and an ordinary record on the road, a slip up could potentially see the southern-most club miss the finals all together. The Storm back line looks too strong to let this happen yet. Prediction: Storm by 10.

Heaven help the Warriors. While Souths and Manly have yet to play each other, the Kiwis take on the top three in their last five games. First cab off the rank is Brisbane who crosses the ditch for the first match on Saturday. It’s hard to find fault with the New Zealand team on paper but something is just not right in the “black nation” and the Broncos are hitting their stride in the lead up to the finals. Shane Webcke returns after injury and Paul Green has been named on an extended bench. With teams at the bottom lifting to avoid the spoon and the teams around the top fighting for position, there will still be plenty of feeling. The Broncos just have too much class though. Prediction: Broncos by 12.

After last weekends untimely defeat at the hands of Manly, Canberra sit one place above the struggling Knights who still hope to be playing mid-September. The Raiders too could find themselves in the eighth place lucky dip with the Roosters and Melbourne still ahead of them. An away game at EnergyAustralia Stadium is never easy, but not having to run into Steve Simpson and Matt Parsons makes the task a fraction easier. Steve Witt and Kurt Gidley have been shifted around as the Knights coach Michael Hagan plays with his combinations. Rookie Michael Ennis moves to lock and Ben Kennedy pushes into the back row in other changes. Betting agencies have moved Newcastle in to favouritism. I want to know what they know that I don’t. Prediction: Raiders by 10.

Penrith and Manly are at opposite ends of their season. With only Ryan Girdler absent, Penrith look as strong as they can and will host a Manly side high on the back of victory over the Raiders. Manly too are back to near full strength with their best seventeen not much different than the team they field on Saturday night. While they may be at opposite ends of the table, this should be an entertaining match with plenty of points if the evening is dry. Chris Hicks lines up against his former club with plenty to prove and if the Sea Eagles can defend like they did last week a victory is possible for the hard running centre. But with Joe Galuvao and Shane Rodney back on deck, the forwards are bolstered enough to get the Panthers over the line. Prediction: Panthers by 6.

Leichhardt Oval has an aura about it. The close proximity fences and historic grand stand give the Tiger’s inner west ground a great feel for watching rugby league. And the Tigers play well in the atmosphere having a great record at the venue. But they’ll be tested this weekend as traditional foes the Rabbitohs visit. Wests have been playing well in the last couple of matches copping the raw end of the refereeing stick some believe. Last weekend against the Eels the train started rolling again and a top eight finish is not out of the question if that form continues. But the Bunnies have already started building towards next year. Arthur Kitinas has his men enthusiastic and not giving in, and with Bryan Fletcher back on deck, they have an on field forward leader too. Expect another close tussle. My old mate Dave Long won’t be laughed at if he picks a draw between his favourite teams this week. Prediction: Tigers by 4.

Sunday at the Showground, two of the form teams of the competition go round as the Cowboys travel down to face the Bulldogs. Two men off to the Warriors next season, Nathan Fien and Steven Price have been in outstanding form and will both want to stamp their authority on the game. Price in his battle with one of the NRL’s form props Paul Rauhihi, and Fien against Brett Sherwin who orchestrates much of the Canterbury attack. Graham Murray has been getting great value from Matt Bowen off the bench, but has named him in the number one jersey this time around. Match day may see him shifted to the bench to give maximum impact against some tiring forwards. Scheming Cowboys' hooker Aaron Payne may be a deciding factor in this one. Prediction: Bulldogs by 1.

Quietly running just below the surface ready to pounce is exactly how you’d expect a shark to behave and Cronulla fit the bill at the moment. One win outside the eight, the Sutherland club have been running along without play making halfback Brett Kimmorley for a while now, and while far from being rudderless have managed to stay afloat. Recent losses to some of the contenders has seen them drift a little but with Kimmorley returning from a hamstring injury sustained in training before Origin II, expect the late run to come. The Roosters had a solid win against the Storm last weekend but are far below their best. Ricky Stuart has been vocal in criticising his players’ performance, one would imagine in the hope of firing them up for the run in to the finals. Sharks flanker Matthew Rieck responded to being dropped to Premier League by running in five tries. Stuart Raper has reinstated the young speedster to outpace Gavin Lester. This match could be tight or a blow-out. We’ll have to wait until 4:45pm on Sunday to know. Watch Michael Sullivan off the bench. Prediction: Roosters by 12.

With seven teams still having a real chance to make the bottom half of the top eight, no team can afford to drop points at this stage of the year. Add to that the desire to hit form for the finals or claim your spot in next year’s plans should your club miss out and it creates a recipe for upsets. And for tippers, upsets are the life blood of competition. Good luck.

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source: MasterTips