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.
Match: Knights v Panthers
Round 15 -
home Team
Knights
13th Position
away Team
Panthers
3rd Position
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Match broadcasters:
- WatchNRL
Team News
Knights: NSW 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. Armstrong is included in the reserves after a week out with a quad injury. After falling short in his bid to overcome a knee injury last week, Daniel Saifiti will try again to be declared fit after being included on the bench.
Panthers: Star fullback Dylan Edwards is named to play following the quad injury which denied him an Origin debut last week and kept him out of Round 14. Jack Cole is again the preferred partner to Jarome Luai in the halves, while representative back-rower Liam Martin is a chance of making his comeback from an ankle injury after being included in the wider reserves.
Team Lists
Backs
-
Fullback for Knights is number 1 Fletcher SharpeFullback for Panthers is number 1 Dylan Edwards
-
Winger for Knights is number 2 Enari TualaWinger for Panthers is number 2 Sunia Turuva
-
Centre for Knights is number 3 Dane GagaiCentre for Panthers is number 3 Izack Tago
-
Centre for Knights is number 4 Bradman BestCentre for Panthers is number 4 Paul Alamoti
-
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 6 Jack Cole
-
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 9 Jayden BraileyHooker for Panthers is number 9 Mitch Kenny
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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 12 Kai Pearce-Paul2nd Row for Panthers is number 12 Luke Garner
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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 14 Phoenix CrosslandInterchange 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
-
Interchange for Knights is number 16 Dylan LucasInterchange for Panthers is number 16 Liam Henry
-
Interchange for Knights is number 17 Brodie JonesInterchange for Panthers is number 17 Matthew Eisenhuth
Reserves
-
Replacement for Knights is number 18 Jack HetheringtonReplacement for Panthers is number 18 Luke Sommerton
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Reserve for Knights is number 19 Mat CrokerReserve for Panthers is number 19 Mavrik Geyer
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Reserve for Knights is number 20 Will PryceReserve for Panthers is number 20 Liam Martin
-
Reserve for Knights is number 21 Krystian MapapalangiReserve for Panthers is number 21 Brad Schneider
-
Reserve for Knights is number 22 David ArmstrongReserve for Panthers is number 22 Jesse McLean
Knights Ins
- Bradman Best
- Daniel Saifiti
- David Armstrong
- Will Pryce
Panthers Ins
- Brad Schneider
- Dylan Edwards
- Jesse McLean
- Liam Martin
- Luke Sommerton
- Mavrik Geyer
Knights Outs
Panthers Ins
- Preston Riki
- Trent Toelau
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.
Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services,
