Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 26 clash between the Newcastle Knights and the Gold Coast Titans.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Newcastle Knights Vs Gold Coast Titans
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium
Date: Sunday September 1, 2pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Knights: 1. Kalyn Ponga, 2. Fletcher Sharpe, 3. Dane Gagai, 4. Bradman Best, 5. Greg Marzhew, 6. Jack Cogger, 7. Phoenix Crossland, 8. Daniel Saifiti, 9. Jayden Brailey, 10. Leo Thompson, 11. Dylan Lucas, 12. Brodie Jones, 13. Adam Elliott, 14. Will Pryce, 15. Mathew Croker, 16. Jack Hetherington, 17. Thomas Cant, 18. Kyle McCarthy, 19. Sebastian Su’a, 20. Jackson Hastings, 21. David Armstrong, 22. Thomas Jenkins
Titans: 1. Keano Kini, 2. Alofiana Khan-Pereira, 3. Brian Kelly, 4. Phillip Sami, 5. Jojo Fifita, 6. Jayden Campbell, 7. Kieran Foran, 8. Moeaki Fotuaika, 9. Sam Verrills, 10. Jaimin Jolliffe, 11. David Fifita, 12. Beau Fermor, 13. Chris Randall, 14. Josiah Pahulu, 15. Isaac Liu, 16. Erin Clark, 17. Klese Haas, 18. Tanah Boyd, 19. Keenan Palasia, 20. Joe Stimson, 21. Arama Hau, 22. Jaylan De Groot
Referee: Gerard Sutton
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
The Hunter Valley is set to come alive on Sunday afternoon as the hometown favourite Newcastle Knights host the Gold Coast Titans as they desperately seek to hold onto their slight finals hopes. The Novocastrians are positioned firmly in the logjam of teams that are scrapping for that coveted final spot in the eight while the Titans will be out to rain on the parade and return to their own winning ways following a very tough few weeks.
Knights’ superstar fullback Kalyn Ponga was in scintillating form as the Knights ran away with the game against the Bunnies and if the home side want to stay in the hunt for a finals run their main man will have to once again play a major role in sparking their attack. If the Titans aren’t prepared to see the fleet-footed fullback swinging down a short side and link up with a rampaging Greg Marzhew or speedster Fletcher Sharpe, it could turn into a long day in the office for an already frail edge defence.
The glimmer of hope that Titans fans had as the side went on a 5-1 winning run has since dissipated on the back of three consecutive heavy losses and fans are just hoping to claim another victory before the season ends. The Titans have been outscored 124-38 in the last three games and Des Hasler will be looking for some signs that the systems he put in place that had the side winning games are sticking with the playing group and that the run of results wasn’t just a flash in the pan.
When these sides last met back in round 11, it was a David Armstrong hattrick and a 18-0 second half that saw the Knights run down the Titans to win 28-24. While historically, the Knights have had the wood over their opponents, holding a 6-4 advantage over the Titans in their last 10 meetings.
Both sides are capable of some incredible attacking footy and with the likes of Alofiana Khan-Pereira and Bradman Best running around, there is every chance the scoreboard keeps ticking over and we get a high scoring affair.
Head-to-head stats can be found at Number Crunch Stats.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Check out all the NRL Predictions here.
Knights by 8
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