With five rounds remaining in the regular season, it’s time to be fearless and predict the final make up of the top eight. For some of you, the hopes and dreams of your team will be crushed in the following paragraphs, and for this I’m sorry.

If it’s any consolation, predicting the results of any NRL round is about as easy as picking the winning lotto numbers, every week for an entire year.

So here goes.

1. Dragons 38 points.

The run home: Roosters (A), Sea Eagles (H), Raiders (A), Knights (A) and Rabbitohs (H)

Prediction: Wayne Bennett will lose his 600th game as an NRL coach this weekend and a fully blown crisis will be declared at the club, following a narrow loss to the Roosters at the SCG. Normal service will soon resume though, and the veteran tactician will be hailed as a genius as the Dragons go on to beat the Sea Eagles, Raiders, Knights and Rabbitohs to win the minor premiership.

2. Roosters 36 points.

The run home: Dragons (H), Sharks (A), Titans (H), Sea Eagles (H) and Cowboys (A)

Prediction: The Roosters juggernaut will continue to roll on with wins over the Dragons, Sharks, Titans and Sea Eagles but they’ll slip up in Townsville in the final round. It will be small consolation but the Bondi boys will finish second on for and against from Penrith on 36 points.

3. Panthers 36 points.

The run home: Raiders (A), Tigers (A), Rabbitohs (H), Bulldogs (A) and Sharks (H)

Prediction: The Raiders may have lost four from five against top-four opponents this season but on a freezing Monday night in Canberra they’ll beat Penrith. Luke Lewis, the future captain of the club, will rally his side from this point on with world class performances. The Panthers will win their last four games to finish on 36 points.

4. Titans 34 points.

The run home: Eels (H), Cowboys (H), Roosters (A), Sharks (A) and Tigers (H)

Prediction: A win over the Eels at Skilled Park tonight will once again have Gold Coast coach John Cartwright telling the press pack they’re wrong to keep writing off his side. The only slip-up I can see for the Titans on the run home is against the Roosters, who by this point, will be nominating Todd Carney for Prime Minister.

5. Broncos 32 points.

The run home: Cowboys (A), Eels (H), Knights (A), Warriors (A) and Raiders (H)

Prediction: The Broncos are currently seventh in the NRL but will climb the rungs on the run home and finish fifth. Brisbane will win four of its five games from here, starting with their seventh straight victory over the Cowboys tonight. A slip-up against the Warriors at Mount Smart Stadium will do little to dent their momentum, as they round off the season with a win over the Raiders at Suncorp Stadium. It will give them a total of 32 points but the loss to the Warriors will mean they miss out on a home final.

6. Tigers 32 points.

The run home: Rabbitohs (A), Panthers (H), Eels (A), Storm (H) and Titans (A)

Prediction: The Tigers reputation for being brilliant one week and woeful the next will haunt them as the finals approach. In a treacherous end to the season they’ll beat the Rabbitohs this weekend, in what will be some revenge for their 50 to 10 drubbing at the hands of the Bunnies, at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in round 10. Close losses to the Panthers at home and the Eels away will have coach Tim Sheens wishing they had a top class halfback to call on in times of trouble. The season will end with a win over the Storm, who’ll be thinking about what beach they’re going to spend their impending holiday on, and a loss to the Titans on the Gold Coast.

7. Sea Eagles 30 points.

The run home: Storm (H), Dragons (A), Warriors (H), Roosters (A) and Bulldogs (H)

Prediction: It doesn’t get much tougher than this and the door on the change room at Brookvale Oval will have to be bolted on tight, as coach Des Hasler tries to stop his sides slide south. Manly will make up for a lacklustre display against Newcastle on Monday night with an impressive win over the Storm. The true believers will once again claim they’re capable of winning the premiership, but losing two out of their last four games (against the Dragons and Roosters) will once again create an eerie hush over Sydney’s northern beaches.

8. Eels 28 points.

The run home: Titans (A), Broncos (A), Tigers (H), Rabbitohs (A) and Warriors (H)

Prediction: The Eels have only won two of their past 11 games in Queensland and unfortunately for the Parramatta faithful that’s exactly where their next two games are located. Three wins from the last three rounds will have the Hayne plane fueled and ready for take off in the first week of the finals. The Eels match against the Warriors in the last round shapes as the key clash. If my speculative calculations are correct, the Eels will enter the match on 26 points and the Warriors on 28. A win for Parramatta will ensure the two sides are level on points with the Eels scraping in on for and against.

So that’s the top eight. It will leave the other contenders, the Warriors, Raiders, Rabbitohs, Knights and Bulldogs, planning for season 2011 earlier than expected.

You can follow Luke on twitter – @luke_doherty – and on Sky News Australia

You can follow Luke Doherty on Twitter @Luke_Doherty and on Sky News Australia.

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