Two sides who have recently found their form, a place in the eight could be on the line when the Knights and Bulldogs meet in Round 13.
Newcastle will take the field refreshed from a bye while the Bulldogs head to McDonald Jones Stadium buoyed by their 44-12 demolition over the Dragons last Thursday.
Adam O’Brien’s men are riding high on the back of a fourth consecutive win in Magic Round, however face a tough month ahead with star centre Bradman Best joining Kalyn Ponga and Tyson Gamble on the sideline after suffering a hamstring injury which also ruled him out of Origin contention.
Cameron Ciraldo, meanwhile, will lose Stephen Crichton and Matt Burton to Origin camp this week, however the performance of halfback Toby Sexton against the Dragons was a great showcase of the Bulldogs’ depth this season.
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Team News
Knights: After a week off with the bye the Knights return to action with a couple of changes to the side which beat the Titans in Round 11. Daniel Saifiti returns from suspension to take a place on the bench ahead of Jack Hetherington, while Krystian Mapapalangi replaces the injured Bradman Best at centre.
Bulldogs: Toby Sexton and Drew Hutchison team up together in the halves with Matt Burton away in Blues camp. Captain Stephen Crichton is also out on state duty, so Jacob Kiraz moves to centre and Blake Wilson comes in on the wing for his first NRL game since Round 3. Jacob Preston moves into the second row for the injured Viliame Kikau and Kurt Mann returns at lock after being rested last week.
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Stat Attack
- The Knights are aiming for their fifth consecutive victory.
- The Bulldogs are aiming for home and away wins against the Knights for the first time since 2017.
- Knights fullback David Armstrong has scored five tries in his past four games.
- The Bulldogs have won seven of their past nine games in Newcastle.
- Knights winger Greg Marzhew has scored 16 tries in 15 games at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services, author of the official annual of the NRL.