Round 25: Knights v Sharks preview
Two decades of waiting, a second title in sight
The penultimate match of the home-and-away season will see the Newcastle Knights bid adieu to a season best left forgotten against the finals-bound Cronulla Sharks at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Starting the year with the false promise of optimism before slipping into a rut of mediocrity on and off the field, the Newcastle Knights will be hoping to give their beleaguered supporters something to hold onto during the off-season.
Winning a paltry six matches, including an all-time worst total of two wins at home, all year, coach Adam O'Brien will be looking to invoke former glories to inspire a response following last week's dismal defensive showing in the 36-26 loss to the Titans.
Celebrating Old Boys Day, an annual celebration of former players to have represented the club, Phoenix Crossland replaces Anthony Milford in the halves, while Chris Randall and Jack Johns join the bench.
Eyeing off a qualifying final on home soil and a guaranteed second chance by virtue of finishing in the top two, the Cronulla Sharks will be out to turn their late season surge into a genuine chance of lifting the Provan-Summons trophy in a month's time.
Falling one game short of a top eight berth last season, coach Craig Fitzgibbon has transformed the boys in black, white and blue into a defensively resolute outfit, as evidenced by last Saturday's 16-0 shutout over the Bulldogs.
Holding a dominant record over the Knights with nine wins from 13 meetings since 2015, including an 18-0 victory at PointsBet Stadium earlier in the season, Matt Ikuvalu has been recalled on the wing with Dale Finucane included as part of the extended bench.
Last meeting: Round 4 2022 - Sharks 18 Knights 0
Who to watch: Standing up each week as Newcastle's best in a difficult campaign, hulking winger Dominic Young will be out to push his claims for a World Cup call-up. Scoring 12 tries in 19 appearances during his first full season in the top grade, the 21-year-old could earn a place in Shaun Wane's England squad off the back of his efforts with the Knights
Guaranteed to play with Jamaica if overlooked for England, Young will have his sights set on giving long-suffering Novocastrians reason to smile at the end of a season to forget.
Enjoying a career resurgence 12 months on from the most harrowing moment of his playing career, Andrew Fifita will be out to cement his standing as big-game player on the eve of the finals. Suffering a fractured larynx against the Knights in Redcliffe last season, the 31-year-old premiership hero has averaged 65 metres and 14 tackles in 23 minutes of action predominantly off the bench.
Locked in a tussle alongside fellow veteran Aiden Tolman and emerging prop Royce Hunt for a place in Craig Fitzgibbon's best 17, look for Fifita to leave nothing is reserve on Sunday afternoon.
The favourite: The Sharks are expected to finish the regular season with six straight wins - despite losing their past three visits to Newcastle.
My tip: The Knights have hosted the Sharks three times previously on Old Boys Day with the visitors holding a narrow 2-1 advantage. Expect that advantage to grow at the end of 80 minutes on Sunday afternoon. Sharks by 12.
