Wests Tigers vs Newcastle Knights betting tips, Saturday, April 21

5.30pm Saturday April 21, 2018, at Scully Park, Tamworth

TWO of last year’s cellar dwellers the Wests Tigers and Newcastle Knights have made impressive starts to the 2018 campaign, and the pair meet on Saturday night in a pivotal match up.

The Tigers are 5-1 heading into round 7 and probably should be undefeated. The team’s 38-12 last round win over the Sea Eagles helped boost their premiership credentials in the eyes of those who were unconvinced their early season form was sustainable.

Wests have already recorded two wins over last year’s premiers the Melbourne Storm, as well as the pre-season favourites the Sydney Roosters, but they only sit on the eighth line of premiership betting ($17 at Sportsbet) with most online bookmakers.

The Newcastle Knights entered last weeks match full of optimism against the Storm but were comprehensively thrashed by 26 points. Still, the Knights currently sit at 3-3, a much better proposition than many predicted.

With attacking prospects like Mitchell Pearce and Kalyn Ponga at their disposal, the Knights will always be a genuine winning threat.

The big question going into Saturday night is, can the Tigers keep their brilliant start to the season rolling or does Nathan Brown have an ace up his sleeve?

Players to watch – Tigers v Knights

Tigers – Benji Marshall: While the homecoming of Marshall was romantically a great thing for the football club, few would have predicted the on-field impact the Kiwi would have. NRL legend Andrew Johns said “(Marhsall’s) running game is first-class and he’s gaining confidence from his running game”, it’s hard to disagree.

Knights – Kalyn Ponga: Ponga has been an absolute revelation this season, dominating the backfield for the Knights. The 20-year-old has been one of the main driving forces for his team and leads the NRL in tackle breaks with 48 in six games. The Port Headland product will be a key player on Saturday.

Tigers team

1 Corey Thompson, 2 David Nofoaluma, 3 Esan Marsters, 4 Kevin Naiqama, 5 Malakai Watene-Zelezniak, 6 Benji Marshall (c), 7 Luke Brooks, 8 Matthew Eisenhuth, 9 Jacob Liddle, 10 Ben Matulino, 11 Josh Aloiai, 12 Robbie Rochow, 13 Elijah Taylor (c)

Interchange: 14 Pita Godinet, 15 Alex Twal, 16 Michael Chee-Kam, 17 Sauaso Sue

Knights team

1 Kalyn Ponga, 2 Shaun Kenny-Dowall, 3 Sione Mata’utia, 4 Nathan Ross, 5 Ken Sio, 6 Jack Cogger, 7 Mitchell Pearce (c), 8 Herman Ese’ese, 9 Slade Griffin, 10 Jacob Lillyman, 11 Lachlan Fitzgibbon, 12 Aidan Guerra, 13 Mitchell Barnett

Interchange: 14 Danny Levi, 15 Chris Heighington, 16 Jamie Buhrer (c), 17 Jacob Saifiti

Tigers v Knights – who wins?

It is great to see the Wests Tigers back towards the top of the ladder following an abysmal period in the club’s history, and it’s hard to see the juggernaut stopping any time soon.

On both sides of the footy the Tigers have proved their worth, and in what is possibly the biggest surprise to emerge from the season thus far, Luke Brooks and Benji Marshall are arguably the league’s best halves pairing.

The Knights have been great at some stages and dismal at others. It’d take a monumental effort the in-form Tigers and we don’t think they have it in them.

We’re backing the Tigers to remain in the top-four by the conclusion of round 7.

Tip: Wests Tigers to win ($1.52 at Sportsbet)