We take a look at Friday nights (15/03/2019) NRL match which is between the Newcastle Knights and Cronulla Sharks. The two teams are at a flip of a coin odds and it does look very even on paper with plenty of value for punters to sink their teeth into.
When: Friday 15 March, 6:00pm
Where: McDonald Jones Stadium
Bet: Bet On This Match HERE
Preview:
This has been a fun market to keep an eye on over the last few weeks. The Knights opened as the odds-on favourite, leaving the Sharks at an enticing $2.00 heading into Friday night’s match up.
Things have since firmed even further as the bookies look to be having a tough time separating the two. On one hand, Cronulla have won eight-straight over Newcastle dating back to 2014, while on the other, the ongoing off-field saga leaves plenty of questions left unanswered.
For Newcastle, this is perhaps the most optimistic Knights fans have felt in recent memory. The addition of David Klemmer adds a big playmaker up forward, while the brilliant Kalyn Ponga can only improve as he enters his second year with the club.
In Cronulla, things look a lot more… ordinary. Valentine Holmes has packed up for the NFL, Wade Graham is out with a knee injury until at least Round 9, all of which leaves a hefty workload for rookie head coach John Morris to attend.
But as far as betting goes, this one could go either way. Newcastle were favoured at home only twice last season, while the Sharks finished 4-4 as the away underdog. Perhaps the only form you can go on right now is preseason trials, a three week stretch that saw the Sharks finish 2-0 with a 30-6 win over Newcastle a fortnight ago.
Odds:
Tip: Cronulla Sharks at $1.96
Value Tip: First Try Scorer: Josh Dugan at $15.00
Teams:
Knights: 1 Connor Watson 2 Edrick Lee 3 Hymel Hunt 4 Jesse Ramien 5 Shaun Kenny-Dowall 6 Kalyn Ponga 7 Mitchell Pearce 8 David Klemmer 9 Danny Levi 10 James Gavet 11 Lachlan Fitzgibbon 12 Sione Mata’utia 13 Tim Glasby. Interchange: 14 Kurt Mann 15 Aidan Guerra 16 Mitchell Barnett 17 Daniel Saifiti. Reserves: 18 Jamie Buhrer 19 Herman Ese’ese 20 Josh King 21 Brodie Jones
Sharks: 1 Matt Moylan 2 Sosaia Feki 3 Josh Dugan 4 Josh Morris 5 Sione Katoa 6 Shaun Johnson 7 Chad Townsend 8 Andrew Fifita 9 Jayden Brailey 10 Matt Prior 11 Briton Nikora 12 Kurt Capewell 13 Paul Gallen (c). Interchange: 14 Blayke Brailey 15 Jayson Bukuya 16 Aaron Woods 17 Jack Williams. Reserves: 18 Scott Sorensen 19 Kyle Flanagan 20 Bronson Xerri 21 Braden Uele
*Odds correct at time of posting. Subject to change