Cooper Cronk begins his farewell NRL tour in Newcastle as the Sydney Roosters face the Knights in the first match since their star halfback announced he is retiring.

The 35-year-old, who has played the second-most games in NRL history, announced on Monday that his 16th season would be his last and he begins his long goodbye against the Newcastle Knights, when Cronk, currently on 99 tries, will look to score his 100th.

Melbourne Storm's Cameron Munster is also set to reach a milestone as he will make his 100th appearance if he features at Canterbury Bulldogs, while Parramatta Eels' Manu Ma'u will bring up his century too if he plays against Penrith Panthers.

We pick out some Opta facts for the next round of matches.

Thursday

Parramatta Eels (5-5) v Penrith Panthers (2-8)

- The Panthers have won six of their previous eight NRL games in Parramatta, winning the most recent encounter between the two 20-18.

- Parramatta have run in eight tries from moves starting within their own half, which is the joint-most in the competition along with the Sydney Roosters.

Friday

Manly Sea Eagles (6-4) v Gold Coast Titans (2-8)

- There could be plenty of tries from kicks in this game, with Manly conceding 12 scores from that method and the Titans shipping eight.

- Gold Coast's Mitch Rein has averaged the most tackles (49) of any player named to take the field in Round 11.

Newcastle Knights (5-5) v Sydney Roosters (8-2)

- The Roosters have an excellent recent record against the Knights, winning 10 of their previous 11 games against Newcastle. Sydney have won six on the trot by an average margin of 21 points per game.

- Of those players who have made at least 100 tackles in this year's NRL, no player has missed fewer than Nat Butcher (three).

Saturday

Canberra Raiders (6-4) v North Queensland Cowboys (4-6)

- Canberra have beaten North Queensland in three successive matches, having won just three of the previous 13.

- Michael Morgan could have a big part to play for the Cowboys given he has had six try involvements (two tries, four assists) in his last three NRL matches against the Raiders.

New Zealand Warriors (4-6) v Brisbane Broncos (4-6)

- The past 10 meetings between these two sides have been won by the team ahead at half-time, with the Warriors emerging victorious six times.

- Brisbane have lost their last four NRL games away from Suncorp Stadium and have failed to register a point in the first half of three of those contests.

South Sydney Rabbitohs (9-1) v Wests Tigers (5-5)

- NRL leaders South Sydney are bidding for consecutive wins against the Tigers for the first time since 2015.

- Damien Cook has made 15 try assists in 2019, the most in the competition and seven more than the next best hooker, Cameron Smith.

Sunday

Canterbury Bulldogs (3-7) v Melbourne Storm (8-2)

- After winning six games in a row against Melbourne, Canterbury have now lost three NRL matches on the spin against them.

- Aiden Tolman has averaged the most tackles per game by a prop in NRL, the Bulldogs star's 39 is 18 more than Melbourne's leading prop Jesse Bromwich (21).

St George Illawarra Dragons (4-6) v Cronulla Sharks (5-5)

- Chad Townsend will make his 150th NRL appearance if he features for the Sharks while the Dragons' Cameron McInnes is in line for his 100th game.

- Cronulla have averaged the most offloads per game (14) in the NRL, four more than the Dragons.