Knights v Dolphins preview

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Newcastle Knights v Dolphins Friday 6:00pm at McDonald Jones Stadium, New Lambton / Awabakal

Dolphins Look To Continue Strong Form Against Injury Struck Knights

This week's matchup between the Knights and Dolphins should be a hard fought encounter, with the Knights keen to put on a good show for the Red and Blue faithful in their first home game of the year, while the Dolphins will be looking to prove they can continue their surprising strong form in a hostile environment on the road. 

Both teams have shown glimpses of their potential so far this season. The Knights, despite facing a flurry of setbacks both inside and outside their control, were able to hold on for a gritty victory over the Tigers in a dour affair. The main hurdle was Daniel Saifiti being sent from the field with 15 to go, an occurrence which mirrored Mitch Barnett being given his marching orders in Round 3 of 2022. On that occasion, the Knights folded, and it should be seen as encouraging that they were able to dig deep and defend their line for the remainder of the game this time around.

To say the Dolphins have been the surprise packets of 2023 so far would be an extreme understatement. There were many people, myself included, who questioned not only where their first win was going to come from, but also weather they were even going to be competitive in their losses. They have well and truly silenced this noise and made the doubters look ridiculous in their first two games, destroying the Roosters and coming back against the Raiders. 

While the Dolphins have most certainly already shown that they belong in the NRL and have a bright future, the question now is will they be able to keep this momentum going on the road. The players would've had no trouble getting up for their inaugural clash at Suncorp in front of a packed house, while it would've been a similar scenario for their first game in Redcliffe last week. The next tests involve maintaining the same performances on the road to ensure that the dream start continues and turns into a dream season. 

In team news, Newcastle five-eighth Kalyn Ponga is out after sustaining a concussion against the Tigers. He is replaced by Tyson Gamble, while Jayden Brailey out for the same reason, replaced at hooker by Phoenix Crossland. Brodie Jones comes in to the second row to replace Tyson Frizell who has an ankle injury, while Jack Hetherington comes into the starting front row for the suspended Jacob Saifiti. The new faces on the bench are Mat Croker, Ryan Rivett and Dylan Lucas.

For the Dolphins, hooker Jeremy Marshall-King is suspended and will be replaced at hooker by Kodi Nikorima, while Ray Stone is back on the interchange bench, replacing Mason Teague. 

Who to watch: In the absence of Ponga and Brailey, expect Newcastle five-eighth Jackson Hastings to have an increased role in running the attack for the Knights on Friday. Last year while playing for the Tigers, Hastings touched the ball more than any other player in the competition on a per game basis, so he has experience in being the main playmaker. While the Knights last game against the Tigers wasn't exactly the textbook example of what good Rugby League should look like, the Knights were able to find attacking success by spreading the ball to the edge of Dane Gagai and Dom Young, scoring two tries by doing so. Those two will be matched up against Brenko Lee and Tesi Niu, who each have defensive question marks over them. It will be interesting to see weather Hastings decides to run the bulk of the attack down this right edge or if he opts for a more balanced approach. 

Before the season kicked off, Wayne Bennett decided to adopt a sink or swim approach with young five-eighth Isaiya Katoa, and so far he has been keeping his head above the water with ease. While Sean O'Sullivan has been doing most of the game managing in general play, Katoa has chimed in when necessary, last week notching up his first try assist in the top grade to go along with a line break assist and a forced drop out. He has also been up to the task defensively so far, last week making 21 tackled at an 87.5% efficiency rate. Anyone who's watched Katoa in the lower grades knows that he has serious talent, and it feels like a matter of when and not if we see it shine through at the highest level.

Favourite: The Dolphins are 5-point favourites in this one at the time of writing.

My tip: The Dolphins have been extremely impressive so far, but I think on the road on Friday at 6 o'clock against a gritty Knights team has all the markings of a letdown performance. It wouldn't be the first time they've proven me wrong should they win, but for now I think it'll be the Knights by 8.

1. Lachlan Miller 2. Hymel Hunt 3. Dane Gagai 4. Bradman Best 5. Dominic Young 6. Tyson Gamble 7. Jackson Hastings 8. Daniel Saifiti 9. Phoenix Crossland 10. Jack Hetherington 11. Brodie Jones 12. Lachlan Fitzgibbon 13. Leo Thompson 14. Ryan Rivett 15. Mathew Croker 17. Dylan Lucas 22. Thomas Cant 20. Oryn Keeley

1. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 2. Jamayne Isaako 3. Euan Aitken 4. Brenko Lee 5. Tesi Niu 6. Isaiya Katoa 7. Sean O'Sullivan 8. Jesse Bromwich 17. Kurt Donoghoe 14. Connelly Lemuelu 11. Felise Kaufusi 12. Kenny Bromwich 13. Tom Gilbert 9. Kodi Nikorima 15. Mark Nicholls 16. Ray Stone 18. Mason Teague 24. Poasa Faamausili

Referees: Chris Butler; Sideline Officials: Nick Beashel, Matt Noyen; Video Referees: Ben Cummins;