Newcastle Knights vs Penrith Panthers Predictions: Knights can challenge champions

The McDonald Jones Stadium is the venue for the final NRL fixture of the week, as Newcastle Knights face Penrith Panthers on Sunday (07:05 kick-off BST).

There are 10 places separating the two sides, but home advantage should give the Knights hope of beating the defending champions.

Ivan Clearly’s Panthers have lost two of their last four NRL fixtures and having sneaked a Golden Point win in Newcastle last season, they are likely to face another tough test. 

Team News

Newcastle will be boosted by the return to fitness of Bradman Best, who is expected to start in the centres.

Having returned to the bench last week, prop Daniel Saifiti faces a late fitness test on a knee injury, while Fletcher Sharpe is expected to keep his place at full-back.

Australia second-row forward Liam Martin will return to the Penrith ranks, while Trent Toelau is in the 19-man squad to cover for several injury issues.

Centre Jack Cole and hooker Mitch Kenny are among those Panthers players set to miss the trip to Newcastle.

Newcastle Knights vs Penrith Panthers Odds

Only six points separate the two sides but it’s Penrith who are the 3/10 favourites to collect maximum points on Sunday.

Newcastle Knights - who are looking for a first home win over Penrith since 2015 - can be backed at 13/5, while the draw is available at 20/1.

Newcastle Knights +14 Handicap 3-Way @ 4/6  

The Knights were as high as seventh in the NRL ladder last month, but back-to-back defeats have seen them slip to 13th.

It’s worth noting though that those defeats came against two of the top five teams – Melbourne Storm and Canterbury Bulldogs.

Adam O’Brien’s men will be buoyed by their display in last week’s trip to Melbourne, when they ran the league leaders close before eventually losing 36-28.

Newcastle are only four points outside of the top four and, with a bye next week, a Round 14 win would be huge for their season.

They will also feel they can take some positives from the Panthers’ recent performances, with Penrith conceding 22 points in three of their last four games.

Total Points - Over 45.5 @ 10/11  

Both teams were involved in high-scoring games last week, with 64 points in the Knights defeat at Melbourne and 54 in the Panthers’ 32-22 win over the Manly Sea Eagles.

The Knights have conceded 92 points in their past three matches, while opponents have run in 66 points against Penrith in their last four games.

The two sides also have star names in good try-scoring form. Penrith’s Sunia Turuva is the NRL’s joint leading scorer, after crossing the whitewash on 11 occasions.

Winger Greg Marzhew is the man to watch for the hosts, with the 27-year-old New Zealander scoring 16 tries in 16 games at the Knights’ home ground.

Check out our other Super League Tips here.