The Newcastle Knights and Canberra Raiders will clash to kick-off the second half of Round 1 in the first game for the year on Australian soil.
The game will be played on Thursday, March 7 at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle with kick-off set for 8pm (AEDT).
The game is the first meeting of the two teams since last year's thrilling elimination final, where the Knights took out an extra time win over the green machine.
The Knights of course had an unbelievable second half of the finals to springboard into the finals where they were ultimately knocked over by the New Zealand Warriors in Auckland, while the Raiders come into the new year needing to improve to retain their spot in the top eight.
How to watch Newcastle Knights vs Canberra Raiders
The Knights and Raiders, being a Thursday night game, have plenty of viewing options available for fans.
If you're in Australia and looking to tune in on TV, you'll be able to watch the match on either Fox Sports through Fox League on Channel 501 from 7pm (AEDT), or through Channel 9 from 7:30pm (AEDT).
Fox League requires an active Foxtel subscription with the sports package, while Channel 9 is on Free to Air at Channel 90, or Channel 100 if watching through a Foxtel service.
If you'd prefer to live stream the action in Australia, then you'll want to tune in through either 9Now for free, or Kayo Sports if you'd prefer to catch the Fox Sports coverage.
In New Zealand, Sky Sports will carry coverage of the match, while some international territories will also see the match broadcast. Otherwise, you can tune in through the Watch NRL app.
Teams
Newcastle Knights
1. Kalyn Ponga 2. Enari Tuala 3. Dane Gagai 4. Bradman Best 5. Greg Marzhew 6. Tyson Gamble 7. Jackson Hastings 8. Jacob Saifiti 9. Phoenix Crossland 10. Leo Thompson 11. Tyson Frizell 12. Dylan Lucas 13. Adam Elliott
Interchange: 14. Jack Cogger 15. Daniel Saifiti 16. Jack Hetherington 17. Kai Pearce-Paul 18. Jed Cartwright 19. Thomas Jenkins
Canberra Raiders
1. Jordan Rapana 2. Nick Cotric 3. Matthew Timoko 4. Albert Hopoate 5. Xavier Savage 6. Ethan Strange 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Josh Papali'i 9. Danny Levi 10. Joseph Tapine 11. Hudson Young 12. Zac Hosking 13. Morgan Smithies
Interchange: 14. Tom Starling 15. Emre Guler 16. Ata Mariota 17. Pasami Saulo 18. Kaeo Weekes 19. Simi Sasagi
Click through to Zero Tackle's match centre for updated teams, live scores and stats from the game.
Key information
Kick-off: Thursday, March 7, 8pm (AEDT)
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Overall head-to-head record: Played 57, Raiders 29, Knights 26, drawn 2
Record at venue: Played 26, Knights 16, Raiders 9, drawn 1
Last meeting: 2023 elimination final, Knights 30 defeat Raiders 28
Referee: Todd Smith
Betting odds
The Knights come into the game as favourites, sitting at $1.40 on head-to-head markets. The Raiders sit as $3 outsiders for the trip to the Hunter.
The line is set at 7.5, while Greg Marzhew comes in as the favourite for first try at $7.50.
Odds taken from PointsBet, correct at 12:45pm (AEDT), March 7.
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Prediction
The Knights come into this game as the favouirtes, and rightly so. Kalyn Ponga won the Dally M Medal last year on half a season of work.
There are still some big questions around Newcastle and how they will line up moving forward, as well as replacing the strong influence of Dominic Young on the wing after his off-season departure to the Sydney Roosters, but they should have too much for the Raiders here.
If Canberra are going to win, it'll start up front with Josh Papalii and Joseph Tapine leading the charge, but Corey Horsburgh's absence, as well as the fact they have no star five-eighth to replace Jack Wighton, leaves this as too much of an uphill battle in a hostile environment on the road.
Knights by 12.
