Round 13: Dragons v Knights preview
An intriguing Friday night battle awaits as two sides looking to buck some inconsistent form as the St George Illawarra Dragons are set to play hosts to the Newcastle Knights.
Coming off what was already their second bye of the season, the St George Illawarra Dragons will be filled with confidence after picking up an important 30-26 come from behind victory over the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium a fortnight ago. The performance which was one of the best for the season for the Red ‘V', was a much needed two points to push them to within reach of the NRL top 8.
The Dragons form has been inconsistent and the fact that they have had two byes already in 2025 probably propels them higher up the ladder than teams around them amongst their form but at times the Red ‘V' have shown enough to be competitive. They have been competitive in their games with only one of their six defeats having been more than 10 points with that coming against the Roosters on ANZAC Day. The Saints near enough form has seen them already pick up a win against the Melbourne Storm.
Two changes have been made to the squad that beat the Broncos a fortnight ago, Christian Tuipulotu comes into the side after injury with Corey Allan dropping out. The other change sees Toby Couchman come onto the bench replacing the injured Dylan Egan
The Newcastle Knights took on a Penrith Panthers side at the perfect time in their hit-and-run mission in Bathurst as they managed to pick up an impressive 25-6 win over the much-weakened and defensively fragile defending premiers side.
The performance in Bathurst was ultra impressive although some concerns would be that they managed 24 of their 25 points in the opening 24 minutes of the game and whilst the Panthers didn't throw any real dangerous attack once they got the ball, it would concern Adam O'Brien that once a the possession balanced out, there were attacking issues that have plagued the Knights all year.
Kalyn Ponga is expected to back-up 48 hours after Origin 1 named at fullback with Fletcher Sharpe moving to five-eighth. Leo Thompson who missed Bathurst with gastro also comes back into the starting line-up. Adam Elliott is out after injury last week.
Last meeting: Round 5 2024 - Knights 30 Dragons 10
Who to watch: Coming under a lot of pressure has been Dragons halfback Kyle Flanagan this season with some less than ideal play coming from the halves. Earlier in the season, Lachlan Ilias copped the brunt of the criticism though the Dragons hadn't improved a lot since the change and Flanagan has come under intense pressure. Flanagan will need to find some consistent form to shut down criticism that nepotism is helping him keep his spot.
For the Knights, pressure is on Kalyn Ponga again. The game will no doubt be a tough back-up should he play 48 hours after Origin 1 but his form hasn't matched his contract value and some Knights fans are not happy that he isn't delivering. This is still a must win game and Ponga needs to step up on Friday night.
The favourite: The Dragons are dominant favourites at this stage
My tip: Luck favoured the Knights both with scheduling and on the field against a weakened Panthers, the Knights were still impressive but not at a level that was convincing had their opponents been full strength. The Dragons would be confident after the win against Brisbane and I think the team at Kogarah has a bit more spark. Dragons by 10.
