Wests Tigers vs Newcastle Knights Preview
It is second and third battling as two of the early season eyecatchers go head to head. Newcastle's attack can be the difference to maintain their recent dominance of this fixture.
- Newcastle have won 7 of the last 8 matches against Wests.
- Wests have scored 20 points or less their last 8 matches against Newcastle.
- Newcastle have held their opponents to 18 points or less in 4 of 5 matches this season
- Greg Marzhew has 5 tries in 5 games this season
Head to Head
Wests broke a seven-game losing streak against the Knights in their 20-4 victory over Newcastle in Round 6 last season, bouncing back from a 8-10 loss in Round 1.
Six of the last 8 games have gone under the game total between the Tigers and Knights.
Wests Tigers Sharp In Defence
Benji-Ball has taken over at Wests whether he likes the term or not. The Tigers defence has been sharp holding all four of their opponents to 20 points or less while the spine of Adam Doueihi, Jahream Bula, Apisai Koroisau and now Jock Madden at No. 7 are creating and moving the ball freely.
The creativity is coming from the strength of the pack which is moving the ball up the field, second in total run metres with 1,837.1 per game with 5.3 linebreaks per game.
One would expect a flamboyant style of footy from a Benji-led side, however the Tigers are protecting the ball with an 80% completion rate and lead the league with an average of 54% possession.
Newcastle Knights Continue To Work Miracles
You could excuse the Knights for being at the bottom of the ladder after losing their million dollar men Kalyn Ponga and Dylan Brown and also missing Fletcher Sharpe for a couple of games, but no, Justin Holbrook has worked miracles and Newcastle are 4-1 and third on the ladder.
Newcastle started last season with one of the best defensive records in the comp before the season got away from them in the end and Holbrook has found and lifted that ground work.
Besides a blowout against the Warriors, the Knights have not conceded more than 18 points in a game, while despite missing their playmakers have still managed to average 27 points per game.
The combination of Sandon Smith controlling and managing the game at halfback and the absolutely electric and unpredictable attack of Fletcher Sharpe at No.6 the Knights can clearly put up points against anyone.