Two last start losers square off on Saturday evening, as the Panthers host the Knights at BlueBet Stadium. The Panthers need to get back on track and regain their momentum, with the Knights desperate for a win to stay within touching distance of the top 8.
Below, we will look to keep up the recent momentum with our NRL best bets, as we run the ruler over both teams to find some betting value.
NRL Round 17 Preview & Betting Tips
Penrith Panthers vs Newcastle Knights
BlueBet Stadium, Saturday 24th June, 5:30pm (AEST)
Despite both sides coming off a loss, each team will feel quite different about those losses, as the Panthers were without 7 first graders in their tight loss to the Cowboys, whereas the Knights were favoured to beat the Roosters at home, losing 18-16.
The Panthers led the Cowboys 22-12 with less than half an hour to play, before the Cowboys ran in two unanswered tries to square it up. With 2 minutes left, Chad Townsend slotted a field goal, to put the Cowboys up 1, before an 80th minute Jack Cogger field goal equalised it for the Panthers. Golden Point looked to be heading towards a draw before some Scott Drinkwater brilliance got the Cowboys home.
As for the Knights, they were extremely disappointing in a loss to the Roosters. The Roosters lost Luke Keary early, however the Knights could only imagine to complete 67% of their sets, making 14 errors and missing 33 tackles, on their way to their 8th loss of the season.
There’s no word at the time of writing as to whether Ivan Cleary has decided to have his 5 Origin stars backup from Wednesday night’s brutal loss to Queensland. Given the Panthers have a huge clash next Friday night in Melbourne against the Storm, I wouldn’t be surprised to see one or two of the Panthers’ Origin stars being rested.
The Knights will more than likely have Tyson Frizell back up, given his limited usage in Game 2. They will also welcome back Daniel Saifiti and Greg Marzhew.
This game opened Panthers -10.5, and hasn’t changed through the week. With the unknowns surrounding the Panthers final make up, I won’t be betting too heavily into this matchup. So, I’ll make a play based on where I believe the number is more likely to go, and that is towards the Knights in my opinion. There’s a far likelier scenario where we see Panthers’ players being rested, and this number getting shorter, than the Panthers being bet out further.
Given this, a small play on the Knights to cover the double digit spread in this one.
Newcastle Knights +10.5
$1.87 (1 Unit)
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Izack Tago (anytime try scorer) – The Knights concede a whopping 41% of their tries on their right edge. Given this, I see a fantastic opportunity for the Panthers’ left edge to get amongst the try scorers this week. He also has 3 tries in 3 career games against the Knights.
Greg Marzhew (anytime try scorer) – The Panthers’ right edge is even worse than the Knights, conceding almost half (48%) of the teams’ tries down that side. Marzhew has been a try scoring machine (10 tries in 10 games) this season.
Knights (+18.5) alt line – As mentioned in the above preview, I see some Panthers being rested here. After a 1-point win in Newcastle earlier in the season, the Panthers have shown they may struggle to blow this Knights team away.
SGM Odds: $9 at Picklebet
