Friday’s NRL 2018 Round 21 match is between Newcastle Knights and Wests Tigers. The opening kick is set to commence at 18:00 local time with the game to be played at McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle. The home team Newcastle Knights are the favourites for the match.
View our preview and teams for the game between Newcastle Knights and Wests Tigers.
When: 18:00 | Friday 03/08/2018
Where: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Preview:
The Knights threw away a first half that had them set up for victory before being run down and the Tigers found a speed bump in the road which will hurt their finals hopes.
Tough game to pick I feel.
The Knights at home have shown in 2018 they are a team playing for their fans.
The Tigers have a small flicker of hope left but a lot of things have to go right for them.
Both teams will be desperate for different reasons but if the Tigers are to get back on the wagon they need to simplify their game and get back to the little things.
As for the Knights, their defence has let them down all year but if they can put in an 80min display, they will win.
KEY BATTLE: Mitchell Barnett v Elijah Taylor
The matchup of the edge players will be great.
Both teams love playing to their edges and with Mitchell Barnett and Lachlan Fitzgibbon in sublime form, this should be a beauty.
The Verdict
I like the Knights at home in an open high scoring affair.
Newcastle has a 5-2-1 (68.8 percent) line record against the Wests Tigers since 2013.
Unibet Odds:
Newcastle Knights at $2.12
Wests Tigers at $1.74
Odds:
Tip: Newcastle Knights at $2.10
Value Tip: First Try Scorer: Jordan Kahu at $13.00
More Info:
Teams:
Newcastle Knights:
1 Kalyn Ponga, 2 Ken Sio, 3 Sione Mata’utia, 4 Cory Denniss, 5 Shaun Kenny-Dowall, 6 Connor Watson, 7 Mitchell Pearce (c), 8 Herman Ese’ese, 9 Danny Levi, 10 Daniel Saifiti, 11 Lachlan Fitzgibbon, 12 Mitch Barnett, 13 Aidan Guerra
Interchange: 14 Jamie Buhrer (c), 15 Chris Heighington, 16 Josh King, 17 JJ Felise
Reserves: 18 Nick Meaney, 19 Sam Stone, 20 Jack Cogger, 21 Luke Yates.
Wests Tigers: 
1 Moses Mbye, 2 David Nofoaluma, 3 Esan Marsters, 4 Kevin Naiqama, 5 Corey Thompson, 6 Benji Marshall, 7 Luke Brooks, 8 Russell Packer, 9 Robbie Farah, 10 Ben Matulino, 11 Michael Chee Kam, 12 Luke Garner, 13 Elijah Taylor (c)
Interchange: 14 Alex Twal, 15 Suaso Sue, 16 Robbie Rochow, 17 Matt Eisenhuth
Reserves: 18 Jacob Liddle, 19 Chris McQueen, 20 Pita Godinet, 21 Malakai Watene-Zelezniak.
NRL News:
The prospect of one more pre-season has proven too much for veteran Newcastle forward Chris Heighington.
The ex-England international has announced he will retire at the end of the 2018 NRL season, drawing the curtain on a 15-year career.
The 36-year-old currently sits on 334 games – eighth on the all-time NRL matches-played list.
He can leapfrog Brad Fittler (336) and move to seventh overall by season’s end.
The two-time premiership-winning forward said he had enjoyed his first season at the Knights but could not face yet another gruelling pre-season at Newcastle.
“A lot of ex-players told me I would know when it’s time but I haven’t felt that feeling yet but I do know the pre-seasons are long and another year is a big ask,” Heighington said.
“I want to go out on my terms. I’m still playing injury-free and I don’t want to be greedy.
“I could try and continue to play but I risk picking up a bad injury or slipping in form so I feel it’s my time to move over and let one of the young boys come in.”
Heighington is the NRL’s third most capped forward after starting his career with Wests Tigers in 2003.
He won a 2005 title with the Tigers (2003-2012) and toasted 2016 success at Cronulla (2013-17).
“The two premierships are big highlights,” Heighington said.
“In 2005 at the Wests Tigers, no one expected us to win it. We weren’t one of the rich clubs but we got on a bit of a roll and we delivered the Wests Tigers’ first premiership.
“It was the same for Cronulla. We weren’t expected to win it but we went on a 16-game winning streak and won.”
