We head to Newcastle for Friday Night Football in round 17, with the Newcastle Knights hosting the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Both sides are coming off huge wins in Round 16, however one result was far more impressive than the other. The Knights destroyed the Titans, however the Gold Coast team appeared to phone it in, and their season is as good as over.
The Knights were allowed to do whatever they wanted through the middle of the field, and it would have looked really bad if they didn’t hammer the Titans. The Rabbitohs, on the other hand, were desperate for victory and coming up against a serious team in the Eels. What we witnessed was close to as good a performance as Rabbitohs fans could have hoped, coming home 30-12 winners. Can they maintain that level for two weeks in a row? That’s the question.
As always, stay tuned throughout the 2022 NRL season to get the best betting value when taking on the bookies, with our NRL Tips page previewing all the NRL matches in 2022.
Knights vs Rabbitohs Betting Tips
McDonald Jones Stadium, Friday 1st July, 7:55pm (AEST)
Squads
Newcastle Knights
1. Tex Hoy 2. Edrick Lee 3. Enari Tuala 4. Bradman Best 5. Dominic Young 6. Anthony Milford 7. Adam Clune 8. David Klemmer 9. Chris Randall 10. Daniel Saifiti 11. Tyson Frizell 12. Mitchell Barnett 13. Kurt Mann. INTERCHANGE: 14. Jayden Brailey 15. Jacob Saifiti 16. Leo Thompson 17. Mathew Croker. RESERVES: 18. Simi Sasagi 19. Pasami Saulo 20. Lachlan Fitzgibbon 21. Hymel Hunt 22. Jake Clifford
South Sydney Rabbitohs
1. Latrell Mitchell 2. Alex Johnston 3. Taane Milne 4. Isaiah Tass 5. Jaxson Paulo 6. Cody Walker 7. Lachlan Ilias 8. Tevita Tatola 9. Siliva Havili 10. Thomas Burgess 11. Keaon Koloamatangi 12. Jed Cartwright 13. Mark Nicholls. INTERCHANGE: 14. Kodi Nikorima 15. Blake Taaffe 16. Michael Chee Kam 17. Davvy Moale. RESERVES: 18. Daniel Suluka-Fifita 19. Ben Lovett 20. Richard Kennar 21. Shaq Mitchell 22. Dean Hawkins
Match Preview
The Knights welcome back Bradman Best and Jayden Brailey for this week’s clash, whilst the Rabbitohs lose two of their absolute best in Damien Cook and Cam Murray. The Rabbitohs are also without Jai Arrow, Campbell Graham and Hame Sele. It is because of all this player upheaval that we will be taking a relatively cautious approach, as I always try and do around Origin, and particularly Bye rounds.
The Knights haven’t managed to beat a top 8 side all season, so the question that needs to be asked is, is this version of the Rabbitohs a top 8 side? Considering they are hanging onto a top 8 spot right now by a thread, it would be a tough sell to suggest this iteration of the squad would be inside the top 8. On the plus side, the Rabbitohs were exceptional last season during the Origin period, even defeating the Knights in Newcastle 24-10 with a similar team to what they will deploy this weekend.
If both these sides were full strength, I would make the Rabbitohs a 9-point favourite. The Knights are full-strength, minus Kalyn Ponga, and therefore should give the Rabbitohs a real battle this weekend.
Small stakes, and I’d strongly consider betting as little as possible in NRL over this weekend, but if you must have some skin in the game, I like the Knights to score over 16.5. The Rabbitohs defence has been shaky all year, and with no Murray or Cook through the middle, the Rabbitohs may struggle to contain this big Knights’ forward pack.
Alternate Bets
Knights 1-12 ($3.80 at Palmerbet)
Johnston, Young, Tuala Tryscorers ($13.60 at Neds)
Knights Over 16.5 Total
$1.90 (1 Unit)
