PREVIEW | Newcastle Knights vs South Sydney Rabbitohs
The Newcastle Knights are going to be out to make it 3 wins in a row as they take on the South Sydney Rabbitohs at McDonald Jones Stadium.
TEAM FORM GUIDE
Knights
The Knights emerged victorious against the Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval for the first time in 12 years, recording a 18-12 win. The fact they were able to withstand pressure and mount a comeback without the services of Mitchell Pearce proved the Knights are moving well away from the dark days of consecutive spoons.
Rabbitohs
The Rabbitohs had been on a roll, notching up some commanding victories over the Roosters and Raiders but that momentum came to a halt against the Broncos. Going into half-time with a lead of 12-6, the Broncos ran them down in the second half as their forwards got the upper hand on the way to handing the Rabbitohs a 20-24 defeat.
SQUAD NEWS
Knights
The Knights retain the same 1-17 that defeated the Sea Eagles.
Rabbitohs
Campbell Graham replaces the injured Richie Kennar on the wing in Souths only change.
PREVIEW
Key Players
Kalyn Ponga, the man that commentary can’t stop hailing as the second coming of Jesus. The young fullback has certainly made a big impression in his start to the season and quickly established himself as one of the most dynamic attacking threats in the competition. His pass to Nathan Ross last week sealed victory for the Knights and his running game always make him a danger to the opposition so the Rabbitohs need to limit his impact on the game.
Conversely the Knights are going to have to be on the watch out for the opposing No.1 Alex Johnston. He absolutely loves playing against the Knights with a record of 10 tries in 5 matches against them. With his speed and his developing ball-playing skills, he is a proven nightmare for the Knights to handle. If they’re unable to contain him then Johnston is going to be adding another try or two to his tally against them.
KEY STAT
Newcastle have lost their last 8 matches against South Sydney.
SQUADS
Knights: 1 Kalyn Ponga, 2 Ken Sio, 3 Sione Mata’utia, 4 Nathan Ross, 5 Shaun Kenny-Dowall, 6 Connor Watson, 7 Jack Cogger, 8 Herman Ese’ese, 9 Slade Griffin, 10 Daniel Saifiti, 11 Lachlan Fitzgibbon, 12 Aidan Guerra ©, 13 Mitchell Barnett
Interchange: 14 Jamie Buhrer ©, 15 Chris Heighington, 16 Luke Yates, 17 Jacob Saifiti
Reserves: 18 Cory Dennis, 19 Jacob Lillyman, 20 Danny Levi, 21 Josh King
Rabbitohs: 1 Alex Johnston, 2 Campbell Graham, 3 Greg Inglis ©, 4 Dane Gagai, 5 Robert Jennings, 6 Cody Walker, 7 Adam Reynolds, 8 Thomas Burgess, 9 Damien Cook, 10 George Burgess, 11 John Sutton, 12 Angus Crichton, 13 Cameron Murray
Interchange: 14 Adam Doueihi, 15 Mark Nicholls, 16 Jason Clark, 17 Tevita Tatola
Reserves: 18 Robbie Farah, 19 Hymel Hunt, 20 Braidon Burns, 21 Kyle Turner
THE IMPORTANT DETAILS
Date: Friday 4th May
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium
Kick-off: 6pm
WHO WILL WIN?
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