After pushing the Melbourne Storm to the limit in Round 14 the Knights get a shot at another tall poppy when they host premiers Penrith on Sunday afternoon.
The Knights had climbed to seventh on the ladder on the back of four straight wins but have dropped back to 13th after successive losses to the Storm and Bulldogs.
Such is the closeness of the competition that Adam O'Brien's men sit just four points behind the fourth placed Dolphins and a win over the Panthers followed by a guaranteed two points from a Round 16 bye could catapult them back into the eight.
The Panthers are nestled comfortably in third on the back of their win over Manly in a high-scoring shootout that again showcased the club's remarkable depth with fill-in fullback Daine Laurie running for 343 metres and breaking nine tackles and young five-eighth Jack Cole laying on two tries in another composed display.
With byes coming up in Rounds 16 and 19, the Panthers get a chance to recharge their batteries and set their sights on yet another top-four finish and a tilt at a fourth consecutive premiership.
Sportsbet Betting Preview - Knights v Panthers
Team News
Knights: A late change sees a game day switch at hooker with Phoenix Crossland named to start and Jayden Brailey reverting to the bench. Back-rower Kai Pearce-Paul is officially out with toe injury and his place in the starting side is taken by Dylan Lucas and Jack Hetherington joins the bench. Blues hopeful Bradman Best returns from injury in the centres, while Fletcher Sharpe has unseated David Armstrong as Adam O’Brien’s fullback following his strong performance on debut in Round 14. After falling short in his bid to overcome a knee injury last week, Daniel Saifiti is good to go from the bench. Mat Croker is 18th man.
Panthers: No further change on game day sees Matt Eisenhuth drop off the bench and Trent Toelau join the side after the NRL granted the club an exemption to have the rookie join the squad based on their injury toll. Liam Martin joined the run-on side on Saturday in a huge boost for both Penrith and the Blues. There were several other changes on Saturday for the premiers after both Jack Cole and Mitch Kenny withdrew following quad injuries picked up at training. Brad Schneider now starts at five-eighth with Luke Sommerton coming in at hooker for his first game since Round 1. Back-rower Luke Garner is also out injured. Mavrik Geyer is 18th man.
Match: Knights v Panthers
Round 15 -
home Team
Knights
away Team
Panthers
Team Lists
Backs
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Fullback for Knights is number 1 Fletcher SharpeFullback for Panthers is number 1 Dylan Edwards
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Winger for Knights is number 2 Enari TualaWinger for Panthers is number 2 Sunia Turuva
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Centre for Knights is number 3 Dane GagaiCentre for Panthers is number 3 Izack Tago
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Centre for Knights is number 4 Bradman BestCentre for Panthers is number 4 Paul Alamoti
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Winger for Knights is number 5 Greg MarzhewWinger for Panthers is number 5 Brian To'o
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Five-Eighth for Knights is number 6 Jack CoggerFive-Eighth for Panthers is number 21 Brad Schneider
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Halfback for Knights is number 7 Jackson HastingsHalfback for Panthers is number 7 Jarome Luai
Forwards
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Prop for Knights is number 8 Jacob SaifitiProp for Panthers is number 8 Moses Leota
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Hooker for Knights is number 14 Phoenix CrosslandHooker for Panthers is number 18 Luke Sommerton
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Prop for Knights is number 10 Leo ThompsonProp for Panthers is number 10 James Fisher-Harris
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2nd Row for Knights is number 11 Tyson Frizell2nd Row for Panthers is number 11 Scott Sorensen
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2nd Row for Knights is number 16 Dylan Lucas2nd Row for Panthers is number 20 Liam Martin
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Lock for Knights is number 13 Adam ElliottLock for Panthers is number 13 Isaah Yeo
Interchange
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Interchange for Knights is number 9 Jayden BraileyInterchange for Panthers is number 14 Daine Laurie
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Interchange for Knights is number 15 Daniel SaifitiInterchange for Panthers is number 15 Lindsay Smith
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Interchange for Knights is number 17 Brodie JonesInterchange for Panthers is number 16 Liam Henry
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Interchange for Knights is number 18 Jack HetheringtonInterchange for Panthers is number 23 Trent Toelau
Reserves
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Replacement for Knights is number 19 Mat CrokerReplacement for Panthers is number 19 Mavrik Geyer
Match Officials
- Referee: Grant Atkins
- Touch Judge: Matt Noyen
- Touch Judge: Liam Kennedy
- Senior Review Official: Ashley Klein
Last updated:
Stat Attack
- The Knights have won only one of their past 14 games against the Panthers.
- The Panthers have not been defeated at McDonald Jones Stadium since 2015.
- The Knights have conceded 92 points in their past three games.
- Panthers winger Brian To’o has scored five tries in five games against the Knights.
- Knights winger Greg Marzhew has scored 16 tries in 16 games at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Match: Knights v Panthers
Round 15 -
home Team
Knights
12th Position
away Team
Panthers
1st Position
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services, author of the official annual of the NRL.
