Knights vs Dragons NRL Round 4 betting predictions – 4/4/2021

The St George Illawarra Dragons have traditionally won a lot of their games when they’ve travelled up the M1, but they will have to put in a big performance without their skipper and halfback, Ben Hunt, if they are to beat the Knights this Sunday in round four of the 2021 NRL season.

Even off the back of two terrific wins, the Saints are paying as much as $3 for the win with some online bookmakers, but that doesn’t mean they should necessarily be dismissed.

The Newcastle Knights will be looking to atone their 18-error performance against the Wests Tigers and could be without Mitch Barnett, who picked up a calf injury. Blake Green is named on the interchange, which signals a reshuffle prior to kickoff is well and truly on the cards.

Key matchup: Andrew McCullough vs Jayden Brailey

Andrew McCullough will be the replacement skipper in just his fourth game for the club, and he comes up against the man he replaced last year in Newcastle. After Jayden Brailey tore his ACL, McCullough linked up with the Knights and played well before his own season-ending injury. He and Brailey became the best of friends off the field, and whoever gets the chocolates here will determine the result. Brailey has improved out of sight and has added another dimension to the Knights, while McCullough has provided great experience in replacing the injured Cameron McInnes. We like Brailey to set up a try for Daniel Saifiti, so get the Knights skipper in your bets.

Newcastle Knights betting info

One of Adam O’Brien’s strong points as a rookie coach in 2020 was he never got two poor performances in a row for much of the season. Generally after a loss they bounced back, only losing back-to-back games once during the regular season. When they lost and backed up at home the following week, they won all three of those games by 13 or more points, and the $2.63 price for the big margin suggests the NRL betting experts are all over that stat. The Knights’ backline is still missing a lot of pieces, but the return of Starford To’a means he should be included to score anytime, while Tyson Frizell is another to consider as he comes up against his old club.

St George Illawarra Dragons betting info

Matt Dufty, Zac Lomax and Mikaele Ravalawa will all score this week, and the $13.50 quote at Sportsbet.com.au for all three to cross at anytime is absolutely tantalising when you consider that they have scored eight of the Dragons’ 13 tries this season. St George Illawarra’s good form in recent weeks brings the +7.5 line into the equation at $1.90, with Newcastle’s last two margins being a four-point win and loss. Also look at the overs for this game, as the Dragons have gone above the line in each of their last seven.

Knights vs Dragons betting predictions

We like Newcastle to get the win even though they are missing a lot of cattle. They won’t be as careless as they were last week with the football, and if they complete at close enough to 80%, they should have enough points in them. The -7.5 line at $1.90 is a good place to start.

Knights vs Dragons same game multi

The Knights at the -7.5 line with Dufty, Lomax and Ravalawa to all score at $63 with Sportsbet is one way to make all that Easter chocolate even sweeter.