The Knights were keen to put a disastrous off season behind them in their first round against Penrith, and for the first ten minutes at least, things were looking up.

The Knights led early through a try to second-rower Beau Scott but things only went downhill from there.

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A run of injuries including a concussion to Captain Kurt Gidley and Tyrone Roberts, along with a hamstring tear to fullback Darius Boyd, saw the Knights down to only one player on the reserves bench and helpless to stop the panthers running in four unanswered second half tries.

The final score-line was 30 – 8 which, when all things considered, didn’t honestly reflect the effort of the Knights

The Raiders stepped out against North Queensland in round 1 and for the first time under Coach Ricky Stuart.
Stuart would’ve been pleased with what he saw from his troops early in the match as the Raiders raced to a 16 – 0 at the 27 minute mark with tries to Lee, Croker and Papalii, but two long distant tries to the Cowboys saw that lead diminish to 16 – 10 at the break.

Whilst competitive, the Raiders had no answer to the Cowboys’ Johnathan Thurston who directed his side to three more tries in the second half and ultimately a 28 – 22 win.

As was the case last year, the Raiders played in patches and will need to produce a full 80 minute effort if they are going to win their way into this year’s finals. They certainly have the talent in their roster to do so

The two sides met twice last year, with each side winning their respective home game. The games produced plenty of points, 40 and 58, and would expect another open affair this weekend.

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Kidley and Roberts are expected to play this week for the Knights which Gidley moving from hooker to fullback to cover for the injured Darius Boyd. Travis Waddell will play hooker.
The Raiders remain unchanged from last week. It’s two tough rough trips to start the season for the Raiders, Nth Queensland and now Newcastle, but if the can manage to put a full 80 minute effort together, may give this a shake against a Newcastle side whose preparation and past three months, have been far from perfect.

Odds Comparison:

Newcastle Knights	1.53	1.53	1.55	1.53	1.53	1.55
Canberra Raiders	2.55	2.55	2.50	2.55	2.55	2.45

All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.

Teams:

Newcastle Knights:

1. Kurt Gidley 2. James McManus 3. Dane Gagai 4. Joseph Leilua 5. Akuila Uate 6. Michael Dobson 7. Tyrone Roberts 8. Kade Snowden 9. Travis Waddell 10. Willie Mason 11. Beau Scott 12. Robbie Rochow 13. Jeremy Smith 14. Alex McKinnon 15. Chris Houston 16. David Fa’alogo 17. Adam Cuthbertson 18. Matt Minto 19. Jake Mamo

Canberra Raiders:

1. Anthony Milford 2. Reece Robinson 3. Jarrod Croker 4. Matthew Allwood 5. Edrick Lee 6. Jack Wighton 7. Terry Campese 8. Dane Tilse 9. Glen Buttriss 10. Brett White 11. Josh Papalii 12. Joel Edwards 13. Shaun Fensom 14. Josh McCrone 15. Jarrad Kennedy 16. Paul Vaughan 17. Shannon Boyd