08 :: R17 Sat :: Knights 16 Dragons 24 @ EnergyAustralia

[Timmah]

​

v

NEWCASTLE
1 Kurt Gidley, 2 James McManus, 3 Wes Naiqama, 4 Adam MacDougall, 5 Cooper Vuna, 6 Chris Bailey, 7 Jarrod Mullen
8 Steve Simpson, 9 Danny Buderus (c), 10 Jesse Royal, 11 Chris Houston, 12 Cory Paterson, 13 Zeb Taia

Interchange: 14 Scott Dureau, 15 Ben Cross, 16 Richard Fa’aoso, 17 Danny Wicks


ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA
1. Brett Morris, 2. Jason Nightingale, 3. Josh Morris, 4. Matt Cooper, 5. Wendell Sailor, 6. Jamie Soward, 7. Ben Hornby (c)
8. Justin Poore, 9. Dean Young, 10. Jason Ryles, 11. Beau Scott, 12. Chase Stanley, 13. Lagi Setu

Interchange: 14. Kirk Reynoldson, 15. Dan Hunt, 16. Jarrod Saffy, 17. Rangi Chase
Reserves: 18. Michael Lett, 19. Matt Prior, 20. Stuart Webb​

Referee

Sean Hampstead
Sideline Officials: Alan Shortall & Jeff Younis; Video Referee: Phil Cooley
​

Schedule
Gates 3:10pm -- VB NSW 3:25pm -- Toyota 5:15pm -- NRL 7:30pm​

Related Matches
Toyota Cup R17 Knights v Dragons @ EnergyAustralia, Sat 5:15pm
NSW Cup R13 Central Newcastle v Wentworthville @ EnergyAustralia, Sat 3:25pm​

 

[God-King Dean]

Import game for both teams.

Saints need to win to get Knights off their heels.

Dragons by 12.

 

[dragondad]

If we win this I might just start believing about Top 4,but a loss and we are back amongst the pack.

Could we dare to dream of going 7 straight?

 

[Wilco]

Dragons in a close one.

Dean Young kicking a field goal after Soward is taken off with a season ending knee injury.

 

[Gaba]

dragons In A Close One.

Dean Young Kicking A Field Goal After Soward Is Taken Off With A Season Ending Knee Injury.

Lol

 

[Timmah]

Wendell Sailor could pop up at Qld Cup
By Liam FitzGibbon
AAP

Dual international Wendell Sailor could make his latest rugby league comeback via the Queensland Cup.

The St George-Illawarra winger is on the verge of a returning from the cheek bone fracture suffered last month in his NRL comeback match after a two-year ban for cocaine use.

Dragons coach Nathan Brown said Sailor's fitness would be assessed on Tuesday, with the former rugby player some chance of earning first grade selection for Saturday's clash with Newcastle.

But it's more likely he will again have to bide his time in the lower grades and wait for a shot, as his did with NSW Cup side Shellharbour before his NRL comeback.

Sailor is ineligible to return to the NSW lower grades because he is now in the Dragons' top 25 list, but he has reportedly investigated playing for the Burleigh Bears in Queensland's state competition.

The club is keen to play a part in his comeback and, if deemed fit, Sailor could be sporting the Bears' colours as early as this weekend against Wynnum Manly.

"That could be a possibility," Brown told AAP on Monday.

"But at the moment we'll wait until he sees the doctor tomorrow and then we'll make a decision."

Brown would not rule out the possibility of Sailor going straight back into the Dragons line-up, with captain Mark Gasnier still battling a back injury and Matt Cooper backing up from State of Origin duty.

"We'll just have to see the fitness on a number of outside backs and then we'll probably make a decision then," Brown said.

Brown also said Gasnier was some hope of playing Saturday despite not being considered for Wednesday night's State of Origin decider because of the injury.

"At the moment, I'd probably say he's a very, very rough chance," Brown said.

"He was back in training today, just a light weights session and a light run ... but I'd have to say he's fairly doubtful."

The Dragons are shooting for their seventh straight win against the Knights, but Brown said they weren't getting carried away with recent results.

"We're fighting away for the wins which is good, whereas at the start of the year .. sometimes we found a way to lose the close ones," Brown said.

"I think the guys are reasonably happy with how we're going but we definitely know we can improve as well."

http://nrl.com/News/Latest/tabid/10244/default.aspx?id=51767

 

[Timmah]

Knights cut ticket prices to win crowds
By Liam FitzGibbon
AAP

Newcastle are offering drastically-reduced ticket prices in a bid to boost their home crowds, despite boasting the third-highest average attendances in the NRL.

The Knights announced Monday they would offer 30 per cent off pre-purchased tickets for fans willing to commit to attending their final three or four home games.

Knights officials have been concerned about crowds at EnergyAustralia Stadium this season, despite them averaging 19,020 a game.

It is the third-highest average attendance in the NRL this year - behind only Brisbane and Gold Coast - and the second-highest average crowd the club has had this decade.

But Newcastle chief executive Steve Burraston said last week the club may have to look into moving fixtures away from the steel city if crowds didn't improve.

With rising interest rates and petrol prices affecting food and drink takings at matches, Burraston believes the Knights will need to attract crowds closer to the stadium's capacity of 26,000 to avoid "major financial troubles" in the coming years.

"The last thing we want is to get a couple of years down the track and be forced to make drastic changes because we didn't give our fans the chance to turn things around and save our club," Burraston said.

"I need to stress the Newcastle Knights are a not-for-profit organisation so everything we do is based around covering cost.

"Anything above cost is injected back into the match day experience, the team and development.

"I believe the Newcastle people will rally behind us and finish the season on a high.

"Our goal is to see more than 20,000 Newcastle supporters at our final remaining games beginning this Saturday night against the Dragons."

The Knights play South Sydney, Parramatta, North Queensland and Melbourne in their last four home games.

The 30 per cent discount applies to packages of tickets to either the last three or four matches and are sold only from the Knight's Kingdom supporter store.

Burraston said the discounted ticket prices were being offered as a result of listening to supporter feedback.

"I've listened to the feedback we've received over the last week and this is the result," Burraston said.

"Families are telling us they are feeling the pinch financially so we're doing something about it."

Tickets to Knights matches usually cost $25 for adults and $10 for children.

http://nrl.com/News/Latest/tabid/10244/default.aspx?id=51764

 

[Shorty]

Hmmm this is a hard one.
Saints I reckon.

I think Wednesday may come into the equation just because if NSW win Buderus will be on a buzz.
If Queensland win he'll be pretty shattered.

 

[Knights_Premiers]

I think we'll lose this one unfortunately, I'm all too used to us going down to good teams in tight matches.

 

[Bicey_18]

Knights I think will get back on track here... back at home in front of a huge crowd, hopefully with our origin players back. The Dragons have been up for 6 weeks now..its only a matter of time before they turn in one of those shockers that they can be known for. If Buderus and Gidley play I think Knights. If not.. Dragons.

 

[wittyfan]

Dragons are overdue for a loss.

Knights by 10.

 

[_Johnsy]

toss a coin, the margin will be no more than 6. I have a gut feeling the knights will get up in the last 5, wes to go over in the corner. 22-20

 

[NthKnight]

If Bedsy and Kids come back unscathed then I can see us beating the Goons.

Knights 24
Goons 10

 

[Jono078]

We will win.

Knights 28 - 16 Dragons

 

[Russell Crowe's Band]

knights by 2

 

[Sir Biffo]

Saints team is in the Dragons forum ... Dell returns ...

 

[_Johnsy]

KNIGHTS - 1 Kurt Gidley, 2 James McManus, 3 Wes Naiqama, 4 Adam MacDougall, 5 Cooper Vuna, 6 Chris Bailey, 7 Jarrod Mullen, 8 Steve Simpson, 9 Danny Buderus (c), 10 Jesse Royal, 11 Chris Houston, 12 Cory Paterson, 13 Zeb Taia
Interchange: 14 Scott Dureau, 15 Ben Cross, 16 Richard Fa’aoso, 17 Danny Wicks
DRAGONS - 1. Brett Morris, 2. Jason Nightingale, 3. Josh Morris, 4. Matt Cooper, 5. Wendell Sailor, 6. Jamie Soward, 7. Ben Hornby (c), 8. Justin Poore, 9. Dean Young, 10. Jason Ryles, 11. Beau Scott, 12. Chase Stanley, 13. Lagi Setu
Interchange: 14. Kirk Reynoldson, 15. Dan Hunt, 16. Jarrod Saffy, 17. Rangi Chase; Reserves: 18. Michael Lett, 19. Matt Prior, 20. Stuart Webb


I've had a rethink after looking at the sides named, if they are as per programme - Drags 32 V Newwie 18

 

[Hutty1986]

Very tough game up there in Newcastle, but the Dragons wil hopefully continue their steady improvement and come away with a good win

 

[Rogue.9]

dragons by 6

 

[Jono078]

If as per program for both teams i'll go with Dragons 26-22 Knights.