Friday Night, Mt Smart Stadium
Round 16 kicks off with the Bulldogs travelling across the ditch to face a Warriors side looking to build on a strong performance in their last start.
As both clubs come off the bye, they should be refreshed and raring to go, however, the Warriors have a key selection headache as Keiran Foran nurses a quad injury. He'll be given until the last minute to prove his fitness with Solomone Kata the only change from their last game as Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad returns on the wing.
The Bulldogs had a strong win over the Dragons a fortnight ago and will welcome the return of Josh Reynolds this week as Matt Frawley drops back to the bench. Despite their offensive woes, their defence has been relatively strong in 2017 and will need to be again if they are to halt Shaun Johnson and co.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is in sublime form as well while Jacob Lillyman won't be thrilled after being dropped from Queensland's Origin squad, that will undoubtedly help the Warriors as they come up against a strong Bulldogs pack consisting of David Klemmer, Josh Jackson and James Graham.
The Warriors start as clear favourites which presumably means they'll get beaten convincingly, right?
Let's hope not. When on song, they're one of the most entertaining teams in the league to watch and will look to build on a strong 5-2 home record in 2017.
Consistent rain is also being predicted for game time on Friday night, which could add complications to the Bulldogs' already mundane offence.
Warriors by 8.
Friday Night, Campbelltown Stadium
14th and 16th on the NRL ladder go head to head in a 'blockbuster' Friday night matchup.
All jokes aside, both sides have plenty to play for as Titan Chris McQueen comes up against his future side.
The Titans will have their three Origin representatives on deck while Anthony Don and Will Zillman return on the wings in a big boost for the side while the Tigers will feature their Origin duo as well as they look to climb off the bottom of the NRL ladder.
Tim Grant's suspension gives young hooker Jacob Liddle the starting spot in the number nine jersey in a game which will see the inconsistent Titans start as favourites.
With the Titans' season virtually on the line on Friday night, their fans will be hoping they can recapture some of the flamboyant that has gone missing in recent times. They sit in the top six for points scored this season and we definitely know what they're all capable of.
The Tigers, meanwhile, have been much improved in three our of their last four halves, matching it with the Roosters in the first half a fortnight ago before narrowly going down to the Sharks in a heartbreaking loss last week.
There is no question Ivan Cleary has them playing more positive football, despite it failing to transfer to points on the competition table.
Will that effort and desire be enough to topple the unpredictable Titans this week? We reckon it might be.
Tigers by 2.
Saturday Afternoon, 1300SMILES Stadium
Arguably the game of the round takes place on Saturday afternoon with the Cowboys, looking to find some consistency in their form, take on the Panthers searching for their fifth win in a row.
After jumping out to an early lead last week, 20 minutes of poor defence and ill-discipline cost the Origin-ravaged Cowboys a win against an equally depleted Storm side down south, however, there was undoubtedly some positives signs to take away from the game. Jake Granville, for one, played his heart out while Lachlan Coote's performance was also encouraging as they search for some stability in their backline for the remainder of 2017.
While they welcome back their Origin quartet, the Panthers go in unchanged as they seek to continue their surge up the ladder.
Sitting in eighth spot, Matt Moylan's move into the halves alongside Nathan Cleary has proved to be an inspired one.
Josh Mansour's return to top grade football has been another story from the Panthers resurgence in 2017 while youngster Dylan Edwards has been more than capable at fullback.
Defensively, the Panthers remain a little frail however they're having no troubles outscoring their opponents in recent times with 128 points in their past four games.
This game is a genuinely tough one to pick as a win for the Panthers would see them jump above the Cowboys on the ladder, however in Johnathan Thurston's 300th NRL game, you would expect the Cowboys to come out firing to give the champion half the win that he deserves.
Cowboys by 4.
Saturday Night, GIO Stadium
The Raiders head into Saturday night in a near do-or-die situation, as a loss will see them slip further down the ladder while potentially placing them two games out of the top eight with a tough run home ahead of them.
They'll be challenged by a Broncos side fresh off of their first bye in 2017 (with Origin players returning) and eager to keep pace with the Sharks and Roosters in the top four.
It's been a stunning turnaround for Ben Hunt, who a mere 18 months ago was leading their charge in the 2015 Grand Final while he now effectively sits as Wayne Bennet's fourth choice in the halves. Benji Marshall has been handed the number six jersey this week alongside Kodi Nikorima in the halves.
The Raiders are at full strength, with Shannon Boyd returning to the starting side as Luke Bateman sits on the bench. While a loss for the Raiders has the potential to be crippling, a win can see them inch closer to the top eight (should results go their way), knocking on the door of the Eels and the Panthers.
Canberra's backline has been in sublime attacking form of late, however, the Broncos' stingy defence will poses challenges for the green machine. As glamorous as both backlines are, the battle of the packs will headline this fixture.
With Matt Gillett and Josh McGuire backing up from Origin, expect Elliott Whitehead, Junior Paulo and co to run hard at them to should they tire late in the game.
While Benji Marshall has an impressive 94% (16/17) win rate against the Raiders, the Broncos are the only side inside the top seven to boast an away record with less than 50% of wins.
With that, we'll back the Raiders to win a close one (despite losing six games under six points already in 2017).
Raiders by 4.
Saturday Night, Adelaide Oval
Sydney v Melbourne, in Adelaide?
The NRL's top two collide in the city of churches and it'll be the people of Adelaide saying their prayers that the eight (nine including Munster) Origin representatives get through unscathed on Wednesday night.
The Roosters come in fresh off the bye while the Storm has won four in a row including two nail-biters against the Sharks and the Cowboys. Because of this, they've opened up a four-point lead at the top of the NRL ladder with a chance to make that six this weekend.
Brodie Croft, Brandon Smith and Curtis Scott took the NRL world by storm (pardon the pun) last week with a dazzling display without their Queensland representatives, however, only the latter remains in the side this week, starting on the bench. Cameron Munster and Jesse Bromwich were ultra-impressive in the win, displaying their leadership qualities with the Kiwi big man playing an astonishing 73 minutes in the win.
Young Tonumaipea moves to the centre position with Cheyse Blair still injured to match up on the dynamic Latrell Mitchell.
There are heavyweight battles all over the park in this one, none more so intriguing than Boyd Cordner and Felise Kaufusi. The Storm second-rower is in the midst of a career-best stretch and can't have been far away from Queensland selection while the New South Wales captain is riding high and leading from the front, both at club and at representative level.
The nimble footwork of Kaufusi against the strength and ferocity of Cordner is one to keep your eyes out for.
So who wins the top of the table clash?
The Storm will start as slight favourites, however, with talk that Craig Bellamy could rest star fullback Billy Slater, that could change the balance of the scales.
As it stands, we like the Storm. The two sides generally stack up quite evenly against each other on both sides of the ball however with their role players in just as good a form as their stars, it appears they'll be too potent in attack.
Storm by 6.
Sunday Afternoon, UOW Jubilee Oval
The Dragons head to Jubilee Oval on the back of a poor loss to the Eels in the hope that they can rediscover their early season attacking form against the generally hapless Knights.
Tyson Frizell has been named in the reserves following Origin II, however, Josh Dugan will be on hand to team up with Gareth Widdop as they look to remain ahead of a group of fast approaching chasers behind them.
Jack de Belin's suspension will give them slightly less firepower up front as they look to overturn a 2-5 record in their last seven starts. That ordinary record coupled with a narrow two-point loss in their last game against the Dragons will give the Knights and their fans some hope, despite their 0-7 record away from home in 2017.
Dane Gagai up against Dugan at fullback will be a highlighted matchup as the Origin pair go head to head once again while Brock Lamb's form has been promising for the Knights.
Can they eek out their third win of 2017? Sorry, Knights fans. We can't see it happening.
Dragons by 12.
Sunday Afternoon, Southern Cross Group Stadium
The Sharks' tough month continues, after a loss to the Storm and a win against the Tigers, they now have the Sea Eagles and the Roosters with their Origin stars back on deck.
Their past five wins have come by a converted try or less and while some may say the reigning premiers are close game specialists, their form has been indifferent, to say the least.
Their five Origin stars come back into the starting side this weekend to take on the fifth-placed Sea Eagles looking to make the leap into the top four. A win could even see them overtake the Sharks if they needed any added motivation.
The Sea Eagles are one of only three teams undefeated on the road (Storm and Sharks) this season and that coupled with the Sharks average - to say the least - home form will give them the confidence required to topple the premiers.
The Sharks have scored 20 points just twice in the past seven weeks with both of those efforts coming against the lowly Tigers and with the Sea Eagles having had two byes over the past month, they should be fresh to give the Sharks a red hot go.
Jake Trbojevic and Martin Taupau will go head to head with Cronulla's workhorse-like pack with Darcy Lussick included on the bench for some much-needed grunt Meanwhile Tom Trbojevic will look to recapture the form that saw him dazzle the competition before he went down with a leg injury.
The Sharks are favourites, and rightly so, however, this promises to be a cracker of a contest to end round 16. We'll keep going with the Sharks' theme of close games...
Sharks by 4.