How the season has turned for these two sides over the past few weeks.
Newcastle were sitting pretty and undefeated at Hunter Stadium with a season record of 5-2 after round seven whilst the Bulldogs had only just recorded there first win of the season.
However, the Knights couldn’t account for a tenacious Sharks outfit when going down 21-20 in round 8 before being handed a 30 point drumming by the Raiders last week.
Those two losses, especially last week’s have taken the momentum away and they face a tough challenge to regain it here against a Bulldogs outfit looking for its fourth win in a row.
After a tough start to the season both on and off the field, the Bulldogs got the better of the Sharks in Round 7, were gifted a 40-4 win over a injury-plagued Tigers side in Round 8 and then came from 16 points down and scoring three late tries, to pull off a remarkable 24-16 win last week against the Warriors.
If they were building momentum, it gathered new speed in the final minutes of the game last week and with most of their stars back on deck, there are some worrying times ahead for opposing clubs in future rounds.
Recent clashes have been split two apiece and were that trend to continue, it would be Knights turn to win here.
Coming back home will improve their chances and they’ll be out to rid last week’s performance from their memories but have the feeling the Bulldogs are building and will register their fifth win of the season.
Odds Comparison by NRL odds:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Newcastle Knights | 2.30 | 2.30 | 2.32 | 2.30 | 2.30 | 2.30 |
|
Canterbury Bulldogs
|
1.65 | 1.65 | 1.63 | 1.65 | 1.65 | 1.63 |
Teams:
Newcastle Knights:
Darius Boyd, James McManus, Dane Gagai, Joey Leilua, Akuila Uate, Jarrod Mullen, Tyrone Roberts, Kade Snowden, Kurt Gidley (c), Willie Mason, Robbie Rochow, Alex McKinnon, David Fa’alogo. Interchange: Travis Waddell, Neville Costigan, Adam Cuthbertson, Korbin Sims
Canterbury Bulldogs:
Ben Barba, Mitch Brown, Josh Morris, Krisnan Inu, Sam Perrett, Josh Reynolds, Trent Hodkinson, Aiden Tolman, Michael Ennis (c), Sam Kasiano, Tony Williams, Frank Pritchard, Greg Eastwood. Interchange: Dene Halatau, Josh Jackson, James Graham, Dale Finucane, Martin Taupau, Tim Browne.
