Newcastle Knights vs Wests Tigers: NRL live scores, blog

The Newcastle Knights will look to put the brakes on their slide down the NRL ladder as they get set to do battle with the similarly out of form Wests Tigers in the Hunter. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 6pm (AEST).

There are plenty of factors to this gane, but the bottom line is that if Newcastle want to play finals footy, then they need to turn things around. With a few tough games to come, it’s as good as must-win.

And while the Tigers haven’t been in the best of form, they certainly aren’t going to be a pushover for the men from the Hunter.

Robbie Farah will line up in his 300th game, and that in itself should give them a boost in terms of effort and work rate, and they are going to need it given what has been served up recently.

The Tigers have slumped to 12th on the table with 16 competition points. Given the mark to make the top eight is going to be around 26 or 27 competition points, and the state of their for and against, they are going to need at least five, and maybe six victories from their final seven games.

That means this trip up the freeway to Newcastle is critical, but their form doesn’t suggest much. They have lost three on the trot coming out of Origin, including a really ordinary performance in the nation’s capital against the Raiders last week, and not doing much better for Benji Marshall’s 300th a fortnight ago.

The Knights though have also lost their last three and another loss here could leave them outside the top eight by the end of the weekend.

Newcastle are a side who ebb and flow on momentum, and with so much youth, it hardly comes as a surprise.

Much of their performance comes down to the defensive effort and protecting their tryline. If that’s there and they work into a grinding sort of game, then the likes of Kalyn Ponga, Connor Watson and Mitchell Pearce become incredibly dangerous running the footy at the line.

That’s exactly how they need to play it against the Tigers as well, with their experienced guys in need of a big performance to get this game going on the right track.

The Tigers form is a major worry coming in as well, but more than that, their defence has lacked effort in the past couple of weeks. They have let in 74 points in their last three games, and that doesn’t bode well against an aggressive footy side like the Knights.

Prediction
The Knights are at home, and in desperate need of a turnaround. They will win and all but end the Tigers finals chances.

Knights by 8.

Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this Round 19 NRL match from 6pm (AEST) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.

Game information

Kick-off: 6pm (AEST)
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
TV: Live, Fox League 501
Online: Live, Kayo Sports, Foxtel App, Foxtel Now, NRL Digital Pass
Betting: Knights $1.49, Tigers $2.57
Overall record: Played 26, Knights 13, Tigers 13
Last meeting: Round 21, 2018 – Knights 16 defeated by Tigers 25 at McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Last five: Tigers 3, Knights 2
Record at venue: Played 15, Tigers 8, Knights 7
Referees: Henry Perenara, Gavin Badger

Newcastle Knights
1. Kalyn Ponga 2. Hymel Hunt 3. Tautau Moga 4. Jesse Ramien 5. Shaun Kenny-Dowall 6. Kurt Mann 7. Mitchell Pearce 8. David Klemmer 9. Danny Levi 10. Daniel Saifiti 11. Mitchell Barnett 12. Sione Mata’utia 13. Tim Glasby
Interchange: 14. Connor Watson 15. James Gavet 16. Herman Ese’ese 17. Jamie Buhrer 18. Jacob Saifiti 19. Josh King 20. Mason Lino 21. Aidan Guerra

Wests Tigers
1. Corey Thompson 2. Paul Momirovski 3. Moses Mbye 4. Esan Marsters 5. David Nofoaluma 6. Benji Marshall 7. Luke Brooks 8. Josh Aloiai 9. Robbie Farah 10. Oliver Clark 11. Luke Garner 12. Michael Chee-Kam 13. Ryan Matterson
Interchange: 14. Jacob Liddle 15. Thomas Mikaele 16. Alex Twal 17. Chris Lawrence 18. Matt Eisenhuth 19. Tommy Talau 20. Chris McQueen 21. Josh Reynolds