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The Newcastle Knights succumbed to yet another loss on Saturday afternoon, losing by 20 points to the Gold Coast Titans.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Knights 6
Titans 26
Things won’t be getting any easier for the Newcastle Knights when they host the Gold Coast Titans who are pushing for the finals in Round 24. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 3pm (AEST).
The Knights have been undergoing a major rebuild and haven’t looked likely all season. After 23 rounds, or 21 matches when the two byes are taken into account, they’ve recorded just a single victory.
Their for and against sits at negative 451 and have conceded an average of 33.9 points per game while scoring only 12.4 points per game.
Unsurprisingly, their recent form is also ordinary. While the Knights have to be given credit for the way they have fought at times, they were beaten 42-6 by the Penrith Panthers last weekend.
Before that, they had a decent game against the Canterbury Bulldogs ‘only’ losing by 14. If they are going to challenge the Titans it will be all down to the play of experienced halves combination Jarrod Mullen and Trent Hodkinson.
On the Gold Coast, it has been Jarryd Hayne-mania over the last couple of weeks, and his first two games for the clubs have been quality. He has been close to their best player in both matches and slotted a field goal last week that helped them sink the Wests Tigers.
Ashley Taylor seemed to recapture his stunning form as well, and with their forwards rolling along they look a very strong team.
It almost makes their loss to the New Zealand Warriors in Hayne’s first game look like a stumbling block, with their form strong, and a chance to make the finals – in saying that a win is almost necessary here if they are.
In team news, the Knights have extended their bench, with Jeremy Smith coming into play lock, the exciting Nathan Ross back onto the wing and Josh King added to the bench – the only player who has been dropped is Chris Adams.
The Titans have made substantially less changes, only adding Leivaha Pulu as their 18th man.
The sides last met in Round 1 when the Titans put 30 points on the Knights, taking an 18 point victory – you would be hardly surprised if they put that many or more on this time.
Prediction
The Titans have it all to play for, the Knights have nothing to play for and the form and talent gap between the sides is enormous.
Titans by 26.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this match from 3pm (AEST) and don’t forget to add your own comments in the section below.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde