2018 NRL – Newcastle Knights vs South Sydney Rabbitohs Preview
AT A GLANCE
When? Friday 04th May, 09:00 (UK)
Where? McDonald Jones Stadium
What channel is it on? UK - Newcastle Knights vs South Sydney Rabbitohs will not be televised live in the UK Australia - Foxtel, LIVE PASS
Where can I stream the match? UK - N/A Australia - https://www.telstra.com.au/tv-...
Are tickets still available? http://www.ticketmaster.com.au...
THE STATISTICS
THE LOWDOWN
KNIGHTS
Head Coach: Nathan Brown
Starting 13: Ponga, Sio, S. Mata'utia, Ross, Kenny-Dowall, Watson, Cogger, Ese’ese, Griffin, D. Saifiti, Fitzgibbon, Guerra, Barnett – Interchanges: Buhrer, Heighington, Yates, J. Saifiti, – Reserves: Denniss, Lillyman, Levi, King
Unavailable: Nick Meaney, Tautau Moga, Mitchell Pearce
- Newcastle made it back-to-back wins and three wins from four as they came out on top of a scrappy affair with Manly. Having gone into the break all-square, the Knights finished the stronger of the two as a 75th minute Nathan Ross try sealed the 12-18 win.
- Nathan Brown has named an unchanged Newcastle team as they look to build on their two consecutive wins.
- Newcastle coped well in the absence of star recruit Mitchell Pearce as he missed his first game with a pec injury. Connor Watson returned to the fold to replace Pearce and opened the scoring with a nice try whilst also leading his side around the pitch effectively.
RABBITOHS
Head Coach: Anthony Seibold
Starting 13: Johnston, Graham, Inglis, Gagai, Jennings, Walker, Reynolds, T. Burgess, Cook, G. Burgess, Sutton, Crichton, Murray – Interchanges: Doueihi, Nicholls, Clark, Tatola – Reserves: Farah, Hunt, Burns, Turner
Unavailable: Zane Musgrove, Jesse Arthars, Tyrell Fuimaono, Sam Burgess, Richie Kennar
- South Sydney couldn’t make it three wins on the bounce as they were defeated by Brisbane last week. The Rabbitohs went in to the break with a six-point lead but a strong second half showing by the Broncos saw them go down 20-24.
- Richie Kennar picked up an ankle injury last week and will be missing for an extended period of time. Campbell Graham is called-up to replace him in the only change for the Rabbitohs.
- It hasn’t happened too often this season but Souths lost the forward battle last week. Heading into the game as the side to have made the most metres in the NRL, Brisbane ran for 39.2m per set compared to the Rabbitohs managing 36.7m per set.
THE PREDICTION
Newcastle and South Sydney come head-to-head in a battle of two teams searching for real consistency as they both look to cement their place in the top 8. Both of these teams have been incapable of winning more than two games on the trot so far this season but at the same time, neither have lost more than two in a row either. Newcastle have a chance to end that run as they enter this contest with back-to-back wins under their belt but Souths will be eager to get back to winning ways after their loss last week. This could be a close contest with Souths’ superior numbers in attack and defence just giving them the edge.
