Sunday first NRL Round 23 match is between Newcastle Knights and Melbourne Storm with the opening kick to commence at 3:00PM local time. The game is to be played at Hunter Stadium which see’s away team Melbourne Storm hold favouritism in the market. View our NRL live scores, odds and results for the game between Newcastle Knights and Melbourne Storm.
WHERE AND WHEN: Hunter Stadium, Sunday, 18/08, 3:00PM
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Opening odds comparison:
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| Newcastle Knights | 2.75 | 2.75 | 2.85 | 2.75 | 2.75 | 2.75 |
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Melbourne Storm
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1.45 | 1.45 | 1.44 | 1.45 | 1.45 | 1.45 |
Preview:
The Newcastle Knights play Melbourne on Sunday, 3.00pm at Hunter Stadium. The Storm will be favourites to win here, although this looks like another close contest in a tightly fought week. Newcastle are playing great at the moment, with just one loss from their last six matches. Shear momentum might not be enough for them this week, however, especially against a Storm side who managed to beat the Rabbitohs 26-8 last week and the Raiders 68-4 the week before. It’s hard to look past
Melbourne here, although this looks like another great match.
Teams:
Newcastle Knights:
Darius Boyd, James McManus, Dane Gagai, Joey Leilua, Akuila Uate, Jarrod Mullen, Tyrone Roberts, Kade Snowden, Danny Buderus, Zane Tetevano, Robbie Rochow, Chris Houston, Jeremy Smith. Interchange: Kurt Gidley, David Fa’alogo, Neville Costigan, Alex McKinnon, Craig Gower
Melbourne Storm:
Billy Slater, Sisa Waqa, Will Chambers, Justin O’Neill, Mahe Fonua, Brett Finch, Cooper Cronk, Jesse Bromwich, Cameron Smith, Bryan Norrie, Kevin Proctor, Ryan Hoffman, Ryan Hinchcliffe. Interchange: Jason Ryles, Tohu Harris, Jordan McLean, Kenneath Bromwich, Slade Griffin
Storm say Souths a real NRL contender
Melbourne Storm might have got the better of South Sydney but they’re certain they haven’t seen the last of them.
The defending NRL champions flexed their muscle against the contenders and finished with a 26-8 win at AAMI Park.
They set up the win with two early tries to take a 14-0 lead and managed to hold off an improved Rabbitohs outfit in the second half.
But Melbourne skipper Cameron Smith predicted their paths would cross again come the NRL finals.
He said Souths were obviously missing gun fullback Greg Inglis, who is set to return for their game against Manly on Friday night.
Five-eighth John Sutton (ankle) may also play.
Rabbitohs winger Dylan Farrell was heavily concussed during the Storm game but appeared to recover well.
Smith, who played with Inglis at the Storm, said the powerhouse player gave his teammates confidence.
“They’re a great footy side and they have been all year, they’ve been the most consistent team,” Smith said.
“Obviously over the last couple of weeks they haven’t had results go their way but they’ve got a couple of injuries at the moment.
“You take Greg Inglis out of any side and it’s a blow for your team and he’ll be a big inclusion.
“They’ll be in the finals for sure and we’ll see plenty of them.”
Smith lamented his team’s lapse in concentration that allowed Souths to get back into the game before the home team kicked away again.
He said simple errors like mistakes in the play-the-ball and allowing their opponents to score from a kick proved costly.
“You can’t have that in your game,” Smith said.
“Take those things out of our game and we’re going to be pretty hard to beat.
“We’re not going to get ahead of ourselves – it was a really good win against the best side in the comp but we need to make sure we’re improving and our performances are more clinical.”