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The Newcastle Knights host the Wests Tigers at Hunter Stadium in Round 16 NRL action on Monday Night Football. Join us for live NRL scores and commentary from 7pm AEST.
Wayne Bennett’s Knights have been the disappointments of 2012 and continue to slide down the National Rugby League table. Newcastle (14th) have lacked anything in attack this year and are sorely missing captain Kurt Gidley.
But despite being without Gidley, the Novocastrians still boast Darius Boyd, Akuila Uate, Jarrod Mullen, Kade Snowden, Danny Buderus and Neville Costigan. Unfortunately for Knights fans, they simply haven’t clicked under Bennett’s tutelage.
Wests Tigers (7th) are a tough one to pick this weekend. The Tigers went down to the Sydney Roosters on Sunday only moments after finding out Robbie Farah’s mother, Sonia, had passed away.
The Tigers might still just be feeling the effects of a draining week with the funeral happening midweek. After coming off a seven game winning streak, Wests are looking down the barrel of two consecutive losses.
But it really does come down to what Newcastle side rocks up.
Newcastle enjoyed the bye in round 15 and will be looking to get into some kind of form with only eleven games left in the season.
Darius Boyd is a shell of his former self despite playing for Australia and State of Origin in 2012. The fullback simply hasn’t had the impact coach Bennett has wanted and needs to find something quickly.
After a strong start to the year, Jarrod Mullen has also lost the confidence that saw him play State of Origin many moons ago. Mullen has played tough in 2012 carrying numerous injuries and defending against monster backrowers all year long. His attack is clearly suffering.
Wests were clearly and understandably off their game last Sunday and were out muscled in the middle third against a very good Roosters side. This is where the Knights need to attack. If the Newcastle pack can dominate the middle, it will open up the fringes for the likes of Zeb Taia and Chris Houston.
But do the Knights have the speed, youth, and threat of the wooden spoon to climb over the Tigers?
Join the chat from 7pm AEST as we cover the action with live scores and commentary and if you’re watching or following along, drop in your thoughts about the game.
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