There are just three weeks of the regular season remaining, with the battle for places on the ladder reaching boiling point.
South Sydney and St George Illawarra will kick off proceedings on Thursday night, with the two injury-ravaged clubs squaring off at Accor Stadium.
A blockbuster double-header then takes place on Friday night as Penrith and Canberra lock horns in Mudgee before Melbourne hosts Canterbury.
Manly and the Dolphins are scrapping to remain in touch with the top eight as they face off, while the New Zealand Warriors will fancy their chances of cementing their place in the top four when they take on the Gold Coast.
Elsewhere, Newcastle welcomes Brisbane to the Hunter. A seemingly high-scoring affair then awaits in the final game of the round between the Wests Tigers and North Queensland.
The Sporting News delivers its predictions and best bets for select Round 25 matches in the NRL below — all odds per bookmaker Sportsbet.
MORE: NRL injury list | NRL draw, fixtures | NRL ladder, standings
Rabbitohs vs. Dragons prediction, tip, best bet
An intriguing match looms between South Sydney and St George Illawarra in the opening game of the round.
The two clubs have been decimated by injuries with over 20 players consigned to the sidelines for this fixture.
The list of absentees is frankly ridiculous.
Latrell Mitchell, Campbell Graham, Tevita Tatola and Cameron Murray are amongst those ruled out for the Bunnies.
Meanwhile, the Dragons will be without the likes of Valentine Holmes, Moses Suli, Jaydn Su'A and Jack de Belin.
The mass injuries have created interesting match-ups all over the park that are unlikely to be repeated in the future.
A prime example of this is Tallis Duncan starting in the centres for what will be the fifth time this season.
He has scored three tries while positioned in the backline. However, those numbers were boosted last week when he switched out of the backrow mid-match and bagged a double against Parramatta.
With the Red V taking the field without their two first choice centres in Holmes and Suli ,as well as a rookie backrower in Jacob Halangahu making his maiden starting appearance, the edges could be ripe for exploiting for Souths.
And there is no doubt Duncan will be on hand to take advantage, as the majority of attention will shift to containing Alex Johnston as he continues his chase of Ken Irvine's record try tally.
Prediction: Dragons by 4 points
Best bet: Tallis Duncan anytime tryscorer ($3.30)
Storm vs. Bulldogs prediction, tip, best bet
Melbourne have won nine of their past 10 matches and are right in the mix to claim another minor premiership.
The Storm haven't exactly been firing on all cylinders of late, but have constantly done enough to get the job done.
They battled to a golden point victory over Penrith last week, while taking advantage of Brisbane's injury crisis the week before.
Prior to these results, they have beaten Parramatta by six points and the Sydney Roosters by four, while also losing to Manly.
Craig Bellamy has been without Jahrome Hughes for much of this run, while Ryan Papenhuyzen's persistent absences have also resulted in Cameron Munster switching to fullback in Round 24.
Meanwhile, Canterbury have dropped from the top of the ladder and have been inconsistent during the second half of the campaign after a red-hot start.
The Bulldogs have lost two of their last four matches, with their previously impenetrable defence leaking 28 points to the Wests Tigers and 32 points against the Roosters.
Following the State of Origin decider, Xavier Coates has been scoring tries for fun as the winger has crossed for eight four-pointers in his last five matches.
In six of his 17 matches this season, the Queenslander has scored first, second or third for the Storm, while he has also notched two or more on six ocassions.
Prediction: Storm by 4 points
Best bet: Xavier Coates first, second or third tryscorer / Coates to score 2+ tries ($4.50)
Knights vs. Broncos prediction, tip, best bet
Newcastle's dire run in attack, especially at home, has already been well covered.
Without three main components that help to make them dangerous in Kalyn Ponga, Fletcher Sharpe and Dylan Lucas, the wheels have well and truly fallen off.
Yet while they have struggled to post points, Adam O'Brien was previously able to rely upon his players to turn their opponents in defence. However, this too has fallen by the wayside in recent weeks.
The Knights were put to the sword 38-4 by North Queensland last week, while Penrith and Canberra have put a combined 92 points on them during their other two defeats in the past month.
The home side are riding a six-game losing streak and look a real chance of picking up the wooden spoon if they can't arrest this slide.
They are unlikely to get any favours from Brisbane on Sunday afternoon in the Hunter.
The Broncos smashed an injury-hit Bunnies outfit 60-14 in Round 22, while they registered 38 points against the Dolphins last week.
Reece Walsh was in great touch against the Phins after copping some criticism for his underwhelming performances of late.
The fullback will look to spearhead his side's attack once again in the absence of Ezra Mam and Adam Reynolds, with the Broncos needing a victory to cement their place in the top eight.
They have beaten teams in the bottom half of the ladder seven times out of 11 meetings so far this campaign, with 43 per cent of those victories coming with a 13+ scoreline.
Prediction: Brisbane by 16 points
Best bet: Broncos 13+ / Josiah Karapani anytime tryscorer ($3.00)