The race to the finals is on.
Newcastle and Cronulla go head to head and the best bets from a head to head, first try scorer and total points scored perspective are in.
head to head
August 15th 4:05pm
Cronulla and Newcastle will know if a spot inside the final eight is up for grabs when they await the result of Canberra and Melbourne.
The Knights currently sit ninth with the Sharks hot on their tails in 10th and this game is the most defining for the two clubs.
Round six of this season was the last time these two teams met and it was the Knights who prevailed 26-22 thanks to a man of match performance from Kalyn Ponga.
The Knights’ fullback dominated with 14 points which included two tries.
A watchful eye on Ponga from the Sharks’ defence will be needed despite his quiet night from a point-scoring perspective in the win against Brisbane last week.
The Sharks come in with losing form after having a massive dent put in their finals chances after relinquishing a halftime lead to go down 18-16.
Going with the winning form in this one.
Knights to have the class edge.
Suggested Bet: Newcastle -7.5 at $1.90
Suggested Same Game Multi:
Leg 1: Newcastle -7.5
Leg 2: Total points under 49.5
Leg 3: K. Ponga any time tryscorer
Combined odds = $7
first try scorer
Kalyn Ponga/Ronaldo Mulitalo
Kalyn Ponga was prolific in the win against Cronulla earlier this year and should be able to cause havoc from full back early in the contest.
He will be the line breaker and seek to charge through Cronulla’s defence.
Ronaldo Mulitalo will be the most dangerous in offence for the Sharks.
He has missed a handful of games through injury and, despite not scoring a try against New Zealand last week, he was still able to find dangerous positions on the pitch.
Suggested Bets:
Kalyn Ponga first try at $10
Ronaldo Mulitalo first try at $9
total points scored
Under 49.5
We saw 48 points scored between these teams last time they played each other which was in round six this season.
There are a plethora of attacking options for both teams, but expecting this go unders given Newcastle could only manage 28 points against Brisbane last week, while the Sharks could only managed 16 points against New Zealand.
This looks a game of cat and mouse given how much is the on line with regards to the finals hopes of both teams.
Suggested Bet: Total points over 49.5 at $1.90
