Broncos vs Knights

Match Up - Darius Boyd vs Jake Mamo. Boyd is warming to the task of aiding his halves in attack quite nicely while Mamo has shown in limited NRL opportunities that he's got a fair amount of spark.

Key Man - Beau Scott is the senior figure in the Knights forward pack and he's got to set the tone against a Broncos pack who have low key been great all season.

Keep An Eye On - The Knights have been forced to switch things up and this is an extremely young side which is exciting. Only the likes of Scott, Kurt Gidley and Clint Newton sit in the veteran category.

Verdict - Broncos >12. Their defence was there for all to see against the Storm, so was their efficiency on attack.

Rabbitohs vs Sea Eagles

Match Up - Adam Reynolds/Luke Keary vs Daly Cherry-Evans/Kieran Foran. Two top shelf halves pairings who are very good in all aspects and love to run the footy.

Key Man - Feleti Mateo has done a bit of everything this season but with Manly nearing full strength, we're going to see Mateo stick to an edge. That's where he can be at his Glenn Stewart-best.

Keep An Eye On - Jorge Taufua has slipped back into first grade and has looked very impressive, he adds some power to Manly's backline.

Verdict - Manly <12. It's all about their forward pack and they finally have some muscle with Willie Mason, Josh Starling, Ligi Sao and James Hasson coming off the bench.

Warriors vs Raiders

Match Up - Ryan Hoffman vs Josh Papalii. Two quality back rowers with contrasting styles, this will be a fun battle to watch.

Key Man - Sam Williams has been the man who leads the Raiders around the park while Blake Austin's allowed to roam and if Williams is in control, the Raiders have plenty of spice on attack to score plenty of points.

Keep An Eye On - Raymond Faitala-Mariner and Charlie Gubb took steps forward last week, can they be semi-consistent?

Verdict - Warriors <12. At home, confident after a good win.

Cowboys vs Sharks

Match Up - Rory Kostjasyn vs Jack Bird. Two very different halves, who can have a greater impact with their respective styles?

Key Man - Lachlan Coote, with not Jonathan Thurston more responsibility falls on the shoulders of Coote. He's capable and expect him to run the left edge's attack.

Keep An Eye On - Patrick Kaufusi will come off the bench and he'll join brothers Felise (Storm) and Antonio (Bulldogs) in the NRL.

Verdict - Cowboys <12. No Thurston, but there's still too much quality especially in their forward pack.

Eels vs Dragons

Match Up - Corey Norman vs Josh Dugan. Norman has played fullback before and he has the skills suited to the job but will be up against one of the best in Dugan. I like Norman at fullback #justsayin.

Key Man - Another forced change sees Danny Wicks start at lock in place of Anthony Watmough and Wicks will be in all those niggling battles through the middle.

Keep An Eye On - Cody Nelson starting at hooker and with no other hooker on the bench we could either see Nelson go the 80 or someone like Luke Kelly jump in to help out.

Verdict - Dragons >12. Look at the Eels, just look at 'em.

Roosters vs Titans

Match Up - Michael Jennings vs Nene MacDonald. Coming up against his old club also means that MacDonald is coming up against one of the best centres in the game in Jennings.

Key Man - Daniel Mortimer, boy does he have a tough ask ahead of him. With Josh Hoffman in the halves and David Mead at fullback there isn't much ball playing in this side, so Mortimer has to step up.

Keep An Eye On - Chad Redman -  former Knight, joined MacDonald as a mid-season mover and he gets a start at hooker this week for the Titans.

Verdict - Roosters >12. Tu meke class.

Wests Tigers vs Panthers

Match Up - Martin Taupau vs Elijah Taylor. Two Kiwis playing through the middle but with different jobs to do. One of Taylor's jobs will be chopping Taupau down every time.

Key Man - Bryce Cartwright showed what a talent he is last week against the Dogs and he's got the off-the-cuff style that provides some variation from Penrith's structure in attack.

Keep An Eye On - There's constant noise about Apisai Koroisau seeking greater NRL opportunity and he gets it with James Segeyaro out injured.

Verdict - Panthers <12. Bit of a toss up here going with the Panthers.

Bulldogs vs Storm

Match Up - Michael Lichaa vs Cameron Smith. Smith is good enough to keep the Doggies forward pack far too busy to bring the ruckus, while Lichaa's job is just to get the Doggies forwards rolling up the guts.

Key Man - Cameron Munster looks like a good footy player, but he's got to do a better job in connecting the dots in the Storm's attack. Against the Broncos the ball stopped with Munster and it slowed their attack up.

Keep An Eye On - Brutality through the middle as the Storm have the big bodies to match the Bulldogs size and aggression.

Verdict - Storm <12. The Dogs could blow the Storm off the park, but I'm opting with the subtle skill and mobility over size.