Bulldogs vs Cowboys

Match Up: David Klemmer vs Jason Taumalolo. With no Sam Kasiano for the Doggies, I suspect we'll see Klemmer take greater responsibility and even try his hand at some razzle dazzle, which will come against Taumalolo who has been in rampaging form through the middle for the Cowboys. Klemmer tends to run straight with his size getting him the metres while Taumalolo is all about speed and footwork, either way, expect some hefty collisions between these two locks.

Key Man: James Graham's ball-playing becomes much more important without Kasiano, the problem is that Graham's ball-playing hasn't quite been as effective this season as it has been previously. While Graham will be busy trying to do a job against a strong Cowboys forward pack, he's gotta add some spark to the Doggies and pick up the slack, allowing Josh Reynolds and Moses Mbye to play a wee bit wider.

Keep An Eye On: The depth of the Cowboys has impressed me greatly and they look just as good with Coen Hess and Patrick Kaufusi on their bench as they have done with the likes of Ben Hannant and John Asiata.

Verdict: Cowboys <12. They're brewing.

Storm vs Broncos

Match Up: Tohu Harris vs Matt Gillett. Harris has been one of the low key best edge forwards in the NRL this season and doesn't get a whole lot of lovin' besides in the pages of the Niche Cache and Gillett has been equally as good - just with more hype. Both are big, have great footwork and athletic ability but it's the skill of Harris that will be interesting to watch.

Key Man: Corey Parker will roam the middle of the field and it'll be his duty to slow the Storm down, making many tackles and back-to-back efforts. Last time these two teams played, the Storm charged through the middle and they'll probably do it again so Parker will need be be very physical and niggly.

Keep An Eye On: Are the likes of Jai Arrow and Tevita Pangai Junior going to feature heavily in the Finals? There's no reason to think that they won't and how they perform in a Finals-like contest against Melbourne will set them up for the Broncos' Finals run.

Verdict: Storm >12. Melbourne have their style of punching through the middle and it works well against Brisbane.

Sea Eagles vs Raiders

Match Up: Tom Trbojevic vs Jack Wighton. Manly are a non-factor now so we can't read too much into the work of Trbojevic, especially as he's battling an ankle injury that is clearly holding him back but this is an interesting battle of two young New South Welshmen who have been marked for big things. It wasn't too long ago that Wighton was being celebrated and now Trbojevic is one the scene, perhaps Trbojevic has leap-frogged Wighton?

Key Man: Canberra are already there in the Finals, so Raiders fans will be eager to see what Blake Austin and Aidan Sezer are truly capable of. Against Manly, they will need to dictate preceedings and be the dominant force that the Raiders need to steer them deep into the Finals. That's the minor detail that I'm still questioning with regards to their Premiership hopes, so it'll be good to see Austin for example shine ahead of the Finals.

Keep An Eye On: Frank Winterstein is back in the NRL with Manly, while Paul Vaughan is starting for Canberra. Vaughan's been absent for a while now and will be fizzing to smash blokes.

Verdict: Raiders >12. The power of Canberra, the power.

Titans vs Panthers

Match Up: Ash Taylor vs Nathan Cleary. Can't go past these two young halfbacks who have both taken the NRL by storm this season and have shown not only skill beyond their years, but also a sense of maturity and control well beyond their years. That's what makes them a joy to watch as they calmly go about their work and simply do the job of a halfback without much razzle dazzle.

Key Man: Trent Merrin will have to do a heck of a lot of work in the middle against Gold Coast's rugged forward pack, yet it's his subtle footwork and flair in attack that will set Penrith off. Penrith have the power around Merrin to allow him to do his thing - getting in-between defenders - and with hard-running forwards running off him, there'll be metres for Merrin to make.

Keep An Eye On: I'm still intrigued by how Penrith will use Zak Hardaker. Could we see him come on and add some spark in the middle?

Verdict: Panthers <12. Who knows! This will be a great game folks.

Sharks vs Roosters

Match Up: Michael Ennis vs Jake Friend. Two of the craftiest hookers in the NRL and while they aren't dynamic runners, they are able to make metres running the footy, plus they have exceptional kicking games. 

Key Man: Sio Siua Taukeiaho has the package that could make life very difficult for the Sharks as his speed and footwork around the ruck could do plenty of damage. Taukeiaho's the key because I want to see how Cronulla respond to his skillset as they will likely encounter it in the Finals and their defensive work will be crucial.

Keep An Eye On: No Gerard Beale which means Sosaia Feki is back and Jesse Sene-Lefao is enjoying some consistent game time off the bench for Cronulla, at precisely the right time of the season.

Verdict: Roosters <12. Bad news for Cronulla, the Chooks are at full-strength and are riding high.

Warriors vs Tigers

Match Up: Shaun Johnson vs Luke Brooks. Last week we saw Johnson get put in the shade by Jonathan Thurston, which is a bit unfair on Johnson as Thurston's the best and Johnson's not quite close. A better match up is Johnson vs Brooks and usually Johnson takes the cake in these situations, but with the Tigers needing a win, Brooks will be eager to stamp his mark on this contest.

Key Man: David Nofoaluma is at fullback and it's an interesting move as he won't have the slick ball-playing that many of the best fullbacks have, he is however a fantastic runner of the footy. Nofoaluma has been a stand out with the ferocity of his carries and this splash of x-factor combined with the freedom to roam that fullback allows, could make him a dangerous proposition.

Keep An Eye On: The Tigers forward pack got over-run last week by the Panthers and they simply need to respond strongly. The Warriors forward pack also got over-run, so it should be an enjoyable battle between these two forward packs.

Verdict: Tigers <12. Another hum-dinger of a game and I've got no idea.

Knights vs Rabbitohs

Match Up: Korbin Sims vs Burgess Inc. There's not too many genuine match ups in this game but Sims certainly won't take a backwards step against the Burgess brothers and he'll be out to lead his team by getting on top of them.

Key Man: As long as Greg Inglis is in the sort of form that he's been in recently, the Rabbitohs will win. Inglis is a beast of a runner and makes big metres but when he's got a bit of space, he's even more threatening and then throw some skill into that mix as well. Don't sleep on his combination with Cody Walker either.

Keep An Eye On: This is a full-strength Rabbitohs side and we never really saw it too much this season, hence they are stringing good performances together. Key to that is having Hymel Hunt and Aaron Gray in the centres, two blokes who don't get much praise but do a solid job each week.

Verdict: Rabbitohs >12. Big win.

Eels vs Dragons

Match Up: Bevan French vs Josh Dugan. French is being groomed to slide into fullback next season and with the Eels' season over, French gets game time in the No.1 jersey. French is a running fullback, however he's quick and nimble unlike Dugan who is all size and strength so it'll be interesting to see who is more influential here. You'd assume Dugan as he's the Dragons best player, I do think the speed of French could make things funky though.

Key Man: Gareth Widdop won't have Benji Marshall beside him and this could make Widdop stand up or it could expose Widdop's flaws. I honestly don't know which way this will go and as I have done with the Dragons all season, I'll resort back to their forward pack which could be steam-rolled by a rugged Eels pack, thus not allowing Widdop much opportunity to impress.

Keep An Eye On: Despite some noise about Manu Ma'u possibly leaving, this Eels forward pack should take them into 2017 and over the last few games of the season I'm intrigued to see whether they can dominate. If they can show good signs, then the Eels and their fans will head into summer eager to start next season.

Plus, Drew Hutchison starting for the Dragons is a nod to their future. 

Verdict: Eels <12. At home, in front of their faithful.