2021 NRL – Newcastle Knights vs St. George Illawarra Dragons Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Newcastle Knights vs St. George Illawarra Dragons taking place? Sunday 4th April, 2021 – 07:05 (UK)
Where is Newcastle Knights vs St. George Illawarra Dragons taking place? McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Where can I get tickets for Newcastle Knights vs St. George Illawarra Dragons? Click here for ticket information on 2021 NRL matches
What channel is Newcastle Knights vs St. George Illawarra Dragons on? Sky Sports Arena will be televising selected NRL games in the UK and you can find their schedule here. For Australian broadcasters, you can find a list here
Where can I stream Newcastle Knights vs St. George Illawarra Dragons? If televised on Sky Sports, then subscribers will be able to stream the match live via Sky Go. Alternatively, the match will be available to subscribers of Watch NRL
THE TEAM NEWS
NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS
Starting 13: Hoy, To’a, Tuala, Shibasaki, Hunt, Mann, Pearce, Klemmer, Brailey, D. Saifiti, Frizell, Barnett, Watson – Interchanges: Sue, J. Saifiti, King, Green – Reserves: Jones, Young
Unavailable: Edrick Lee (Injured), Kalyn Ponga (Injured), Lachlan Fitzgibbon (Injured), Jirah Momoisea (Injured), Bradman Best (Injured)
- Newcastle Knights suffered their first loss of the campaign as they were edged by Wests Tigers with their makeshift backline struggling to come up with the goods in what was a frustrating performance.
- The Knights completed at just 67% on the back of 18 errors, almost double the number that they had committed across their opening two matches, and that is a clear area for improvement as they bid to return to winning ways.
ST. GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS
Starting 13: Dufty, Ramsey, Wiliame, Lomax, Ravalawa, Norman, Clune, Lawrie, McCullough, Vaughan, Kerr, Sims, Fuimaono – Interchanges: Faamusili, Merrin, Alvaro, Ford – Reserves: Ellis, Pereira
Unavailable: Jack de Belin (Suspended), Cameron McInnes (Injured), Jayden Sullivan (Injured), Ben Hunt (Injured), Jack Bird (Suspended)
- St. George Illawarra Dragons collected another win to make it back-to-back successes with Manly Sea Eagles struggling to contain the Dragons’ ball movement last week and they will believe that they can continue their solid start to the campaign here.
- The Dragons have lost skipper Ben Hunt who suffered a fractured fibula last week so Adam Clune comes into the halves but head coach Anthony Griffin will hope his side’s attacking flow is not disrupted too much having posted 63 points in their last two fixtures.
THE PREDICTION
Newcastle Knights and St. George Illawarra Dragons have both won two games from three to begin the season but the away side come into this on the back of successive wins. They blew Manly Sea Eagles away last week in an impressive display but the injury to captain Ben Hunt could impact their chances of claiming a third straight victory. The Knights were their own worst enemy against Wests Tigers last week as they continually coughed up the ball but they can respond to that disappointment by making an immediate return to winning ways in this one to make it three consecutive victories over the Dragons.
