Knights vs Sharks NRL Rd 25 betting tips – Sunday 4/9/2022

Sunday afternoon’s NRL action kicks off in Newcastle with the Knights hosting the Cronulla Sharks at McDonald Jones Stadium.

By the time kickoff comes, the Sharks will know exactly what they need to be doing to finish as high on the ladder as possible. Should the Cowboys beat the Panthers in Townsville, the Sharks would need to put a cricket score on the Knights to get into second place. Either way, the Sharks are guaranteed to finish in the top three.

The Knights don’t have a great deal to play for, except pride and their fans, but have shown at points this season they’re not even willing to do that. Some players in Newcastle will be playing with targets on their back; with players coming from other clubs and overseas to the Knights next year, there’s more on the line than they may realise.

Can the Knights stand up to the Sharks and shock them before the finals? Or will the Sharks take care of business heading into September?

The Knights have been forced to make changes this weekend with Anthony Milford succumbing to a rib injury and being replaced by Phoenix Crossland, while Sauaso Sue being dropped with Mat Croker taking the starting lock position and Jack Johns moving to the bench. For the Sharks, rookie Kayal Iro has been shifted back to the reserves and replaced by Matt Ikuvalu. Braydon Trindall has been dropped from the interchange bench with Luke Metcalf called to the starting 17, while Dale Finucane is named on the reserves bench and could be a late starter for the Sharks.

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In 43 matches between these two clubs, the Knights have won on 24 occasions. Additionally, the Knights have won four of their last five against the Sharks. However, those numbers are no reflection of where these club are at. Many would not only expect the Sharks to win, but to win by a large margin. They couldn’t do it last weekend against the Bulldogs, so there is more of an expectation the Sharks put a big score on the Knights. However big that margin is, the Sharks should cover the -18.5 point line.

The combination that has been formed on the left-hand side attack for the Sharks this season has been incredible. Nicho Hynes and Matt Moylan have found multiple ways of putting Ronaldo Mulitalo and Siosifa Talakai in space to score any way they like. Scoring especially for Mulitalo has been tough without Talakai inside him, and the former Rabbitoh’s return has proven to be beneficial for the Sharks.

What’s more concerning for the Knights is Dominic Young and Dane Gagai, who have had some defensive issues this season, will be marking the Sharks outside backs. Look for both Mulitalo ($1.35) and Talakai ($2.35) to score at any time during the match.

Horrendous weather has set in around Newcastle and is predicted to stay all weekend. The Sharks showed, especially earlier this season, they have an incredible ability to play wet-weather football. They piled on the points against the Dragons and are every chance to do the same here. However, the match total will not exceed the 54-point mark.

Key matchup: Dane Gagai vs Siosifa Talakai

These two State of Origin calibre centres are set to face off at very different ends of their career. Gagai has been a Queensland and Australia outside back for years, while Talakai looks like he could have years left in him on some of rugby league’s biggest stages. Gagai was once known as much for his incredible defensive work as his ability to attack and score points. That defensive ability looks to have waned, and if he is to stop Talakai on Sunday, he’ll need to regain that form. If Talakai does to Gagai what he did to Morgan Harper some weeks back at Shark Park, the Knights and Gagai will be in for a long day at the office.

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