Newcastle Knights vs New Zealand Warriors prediction: Knights further Warriors misery

Two sides in the bottom half of the National Rugby League come face to face as the Newcastle Knights take on the New Zealand Warriors at the McDonald Jones Stadium.

The Novocastrians put an end to their two-game losing streak by claiming a more than credible 18-14 victory over third-placed Dolphins, putting an end to their five-game losing run on the road.

The Warriors, meanwhile, are winless in three in the league while their form away from their Mount Smart Stadium home has seen them win just one of their last six on their travels and they could find themselves on the wrong side of the final result again on Sunday.

Match odds

Despite having home advantage, the Knights are the underdogs going into this meeting at 7/5, whereas the warriors are 8/13 favourites to end their recent winless run.

The tie can be backed at 18/1, while over 39.5 total points is available at 10/11.

Team news

 After claiming a vital win a the Dolphins last time out, Adam O’Brien unsurprisingly names an unchanged starting lineup.

David Alexander and Tyson Gamble, both tryscorers for Newcastle last time out, keep their places at full-back and stand-off respectively, with Greg Marzhew, Dane Gagai, Bradman Best, Enari Tuala and Jackson Hastings all starting from the off.

Jacob Saifiti, Jayden Brailey and Leo Thompson make up the front of the scrum, while the rest of the pack includes Dylan Lucas, Kai Pearce-Paul and Adam Elliott.

New Zealand Warriors boss Andrew Webster has made just one change from his side’s 27-24 home defeat to Gold Coast Titans, with Kurt Capewell replacing Jacob Laban in the second row.

He is joined in the scrum by last week’s double try scorer Addin Fonua-Blake, Wayde Egan, Mitchell Barnett, Jackson Ford and Tohu Harris.

The back line for the Warriors consists of Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Rocco Berry, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Marcelo Montoya, Te Maire Martin and Shaun Johnson, who kicked a perfect four from four against the Titans.

Newcastle Knights to win @ 7/5 

Newcastle have lost just two of their last 10 in front of their own fans and this strong home form should put them in good stead when they host a Warriors side that look a shell of the side that won eight of their 12 away NRL games last season.

The form of centre Dane Gagai could be key for the Knights, given that Newcastle lead the way in the NRL in conversion percentage with 96 per cent, and he could help the hosts pull away from the Warriors in the kicking game.

The visitors have struggled to make a contest of league matches on the road, with four of their five away defeats across their last six coming via at least an 18-point margin.

Therefore, they are likely to fall away badly when they find themselves multiple scores behind.

Check out our Super League Betting Tips here.