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The Newcastle Knights are one of the most interesting teams heading into the 2025 season, with mixed expectations around their success. They have made the finals in four of the last five seasons, but with just one finals win across that span, there are concerns that Adam O’Brien’s side have missed their chance at the top.
Last season, Newcastle snuck into the finals in eighth spot, before bowing out in the first week in a 28-16 loss to the Cowboys.
A key part of 2024 was the emergence of young players such as Fletcher Sharpe, Leo Thompson and Dylan Lucas. But there are plenty of concerns around their halves pairing, while they have lost veteran prop Daniel Saifiti to the Dolphins.
Looking forward to 2025, so much of the Knights’ success this season is reliant on fullback Kalyn Ponga. One of the best players in the NRL, Ponga has consistently dealt with injury concerns throughout his career but when fit, he takes this Newcastle side to another level.
Let’s take a look at the Knights odds for the 2025 NRL Season.
Established: | 1987 |
---|---|
Home ground: | McDonald Jones Stadium |
Coach: | Adam O’Brien |
Captain: | Kalyn Ponga |
Premierships: | Two – 1997, 2001 |
2024 ladder finish: | Eighth (12-0-12) – knocked out Finals Week 1 |
2025 Premiership | Top 8 Betting | Knights Top Tryscorer | |
---|---|---|---|
Odds @ Marantelli Bet | $51 | $3.50 | TBC |
There are dozens of NRL futures markets for Newcastle, but where are they likely to return some real value?
Click on the tabs below to get more analysis on these markets:
Round | Opponent | Venue | Date | Time (NSW) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wests Tigers | Campbelltown Stadium | Friday, March 7 | 6:00pm |
2 | Dolphins | McDonald Jones Stadium | Thursday, March 13 | 8:00pm |
3 | Gold Coast Titans | Cbus Super Stadium | Saturday, March 22 | 7:35pm |
4 | Cronulla Sharks | McDonald Jones Stadium | Sunday, April 20 | 4:05pm |
5 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Accor Stadium | Sunday, April 27 | 6:15pm |
6 | Wests Tigers | McDonald Jones Stadium | Sunday, May 4 | 4:05pm |
7 | Penrith Panthers | BlueBet Stadium | Sunday, May 11 | 4:05pm |
8 | Sydney Roosters | McDonald Jones Stadium | Saturday, May 17 | 5:30pm |
9 | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium | Saturday, May 24 | 7:35pm |
10 | Melbourne Storm | AAMI Park | Saturday, May 31 | 7:35pm |
11 | North Queensland Cowboys | McDonald Jones Stadium | Saturday, June 7 | 5:30pm |
12 | BYE | – | – | – |
13 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Accor Stadium | Saturday, June 21 | 7:35pm |
14 | Canberra Raiders | McDonald Jones Stadium | Friday, June 27 | 8:00pm |
15 | New Zealand Warriors | Go Media Stadium | Sunday, July 13 | 2:00pm |
16 | BYE | – | – | – |
17 | Gold Coast Titans | McDonald Jones Stadium | Sunday, July 20 | 4:05pm |
18 | Dolphins | Suncorp Stadium | Saturday, July 27 | 7:35pm |
19 | Penrith Panthers | McDonald Jones Stadium | Saturday, August 3 | 5:30pm |
20 | Cronulla Sharks | PointsBet Stadium | Friday, August 9 | 6:00pm |
21 | Manly Sea Eagles | 4 Pines Park | Sunday, August 18 | 2:00pm |
22 | Brisbane Broncos | McDonald Jones Stadium | Saturday, August 24 | 7:35pm |
23 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Accor Stadium | Saturday, August 31 | 7:35pm |
24 | BYE | – | – | – |
25 | New Zealand Warriors | McDonald Jones Stadium | Sunday, September 8 | 4:05pm |
26 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Accor Stadium | Friday, September 13 | 8:00pm |
27 | Melbourne Storm | AAMI Park | Saturday, September 20 | 7:35pm |
Born: 19/2/2001
Games: 22
Tries: 1
Position: Second Rower
In his first season since moving across from the Super League, English second rower Kai Pearce-Paul showed he was up to the level of the NRL, making his way from the bench into the starting side. At just 23 years old, Pearce-Paul looks set to take another step in 2025 after an uninterrupted pre-season, with the depth in second-row talent set to keep a high competition for spots. Pearce-Paul is nearly 200cm and 110kg, while also mobile for a second rower, so if he can get going, he has the ability to take over games.
Born: 5/12/2002
Games: 5
Tries: 1
Position: Centre
Another player who made the move across from the Super League last season, five-eighth Will Pryce has potential to be a difference maker in 2025. With concerns around the Knights’ halves, Pryce is a highly talented youngster that can make a difference if selected for Round 1. In his limited opportunities in 2024 he was inconsistent, but with a year in Australia under his belt, don’t be surprised if Pryce becomes a key part of this team by the end of the season.
Born: 9/7/2000
Games: 7
Tries: 2
Position: 2nd Row
Knights centre Bradman Best emerged as one of the Knights’ key players in 2024, while also playing a key role in New South Wales’ Origin triumph. Despite an injury affected year, Best was a major reason behind their finals run, averaging 165 running metres per game, while the side won 10 of his 17 games for the season. He takes more tough carries than the average centre, while his mix of speed and size make him a constant scoring threat.
Although Sydneysiders regarded it as a second-rate competition, the Newcastle Rugby League soon became one of Australia’s strongest regional sporting divisions. It fielded a number of successful representative teams throughout the 20th century, several of which were good enough to beat touring sides from interstate and overseas. League legends Clive Churchill, John Sattler, Les Johns and Johnny Graves all played in Newcastle, while NSW and Kangaroos hero Wally Prigg spent his entire club career there.
As the NSWRL began to expand in the 1960s, talk arose of a new team based in the Hunter Region. However, clubs and league administrators in Newcastle worried that such a move would diminish the value and status of their own competition. They declined an invitation to enter a side in the NSWRL in 1982, which led to the foundation of the Canberra Raiders instead.
It was a different story a few years later when nationwide expansion became inevitable. In 1988, the Newcastle Knights joined the Sydney first-grade competition along with the Brisbane Broncos and the Gold Coast-Tweed Giants. The team was an instant hit with rugby league fans in country NSW and took only three seasons to reach the playoffs.
The Knights’ popularity was highlighted during and after the Super League wars of the mid-1990s, when the rival Hunter Mariners franchise came and went within a matter of years. It helped that Newcastle won the Australian Rugby League title in 1997 with the assistance of a handy little footballer by the name of Andrew Johns, who would go on to win three Dally M Player of the Year awards.
The red and blue have endured a few ups and downs since those heady days. A drugs scandal tarnished their success of the late ’90s, while the city as a whole fell on hard times after the closure of the BHP Steelworks. Even the 2011 signing of Queensland super-coach Wayne Bennett could not inspire the Knights to consistent glory, despite a promising 2013 campaign that ended in a preliminary final appearance. Three wooden spoons later, a new era dawned with the rise of young stars and key signings like Kalyn Ponga and Dominic Young, leading the team to a resurgent 2023 finals run. As Newcastle looks to the 2025 season, hopes are high for continued growth under Adam O’Brien’s leadership, driven by a blend of emerging talent and seasoned experience.
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