Newcastle Knights vs Sydney Roosters 2013 NRL Round 20 preview and tips

The final of Sunday’s three games should be a beauty as the Sydney Roosters travel north to take on Newcastle.

Newcastle made it three wins in a row with a strong victory over Penrith last week 30 – 14. It was their second victory on the road in as many weeks and they return home sitting in fifth spot on the ladder.

This, one of only four remaining home games for the Knights, will be a good test of their ability to handle finals football.

Sydney has been dominant in the past two weeks, keeping both St. George and Cronulla pointless as collectively, the amassed 76 points.

It further enhanced the Roosters outstanding defensive record this year and with a full team named for this clash, they’ll prove very hard for the Knights to overcome.

Newcastle have named a strong squad as well, particularly in the forwards and it’s this area that they’ll need to be at their best as the Roosters pack, one of the biggest in the competition, has continually laid the foundation for the Rooster’s success this year.

There’re plenty of points in both backlines but surprisingly, in the last three clashes between the two sides, no more than 30 total match points has been produced.

Head to head, these two sides have taken it in turns of winning since round 12, 2007 and come into this game 5 wins apiece.

If that trend is to continue here, Newcastle will prevail however, it’s too hard to tip against the Roosters in their current form.

Expect a hard, physical game that, like the previous three, might end in relatively low total match score.

TIP: ROOSTERS 1 – 12

Odds comparison by NRL Odds:

Newcastle Knights 2.70 2.80 2.85 2.80 2.70 2.70
Sydney Roosters
1.47 1.45 1.44 1.45 1.47 1.48

Teams:

Newcastle Knights:

1 Darius Boyd
2 James McManus
3 Dane Gagai
4 Joey Leilua
5 Akuila Uate
6 Jarrod Mullen (c)
7 Tyrone Roberts
8 David Fa’alogo
9 Danny Buderus
10 Willie Mason
11 Robbie Rochow
12 Beau Scott
13 Jeremy Smith

Interchange
14 Craig Gower
15 Chris Houston
16 Neville Costigan
17 Korbin Sims
18 Zane Tetevano

Coach: Wayne Bennett

 

Sydney Roosters:

1 Anthony Minichiello (c)
2 Daniel Tupou
3 Michael Jennings
4 Shaun Kenny-Dowall
5 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
6 James Maloney
7 Mitchell Pearce
8 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
9 Jake Friend
10 Luke O’Donnell
11 Boyd Cordner
12 Sonny Bill Williams
13 Frank-Paul Nuuausala

Interchange

14 Daniel Mortimer
15 Mitchell Aubusson
16 Aidan Guerra
17 Sam Moa
19 Isaac Liu

Coach: Trent Robinson

 

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