The pick of this weekend’s NRL action will see the fourth-placed Newcastle Knights take on the log-leading Parramatta Eels on Sunday the 12th of July.
Image Copyright – Steve Haag Sports
The headline clash of Round 9 of the 2020 NRL season will see the Parramatta Eels tackle the Newcastle Knights. Both teams have enjoyed great first thirds of the campaign and look primed for play-off spots should they keep churning out impressive results.
Newcastle Knights v Parramatta Eels
Sunday 12 July
McDonald Jones Stadium
To Win (80 Mins)
Newcastle
Draw
Parramatta
Newcastle
Newcastle have been rather inconsistent over the past couple weeks winning two and losing two of their past four games.
The two defeats came at the hands of the Storm (12-26) and the Cowboys (32-20), while the two victories came against the Broncos (27-6) and the Sea Eagles (12-14). The two wins are hardly that impressive considering both the Broncos and Sea Eagles occupy positions near the foot of the ladder.
Newcastle struggled against the Eels in the final meeting between the sides last season going down 7-14 at home. Things haven’t got much better this year as they went down 20-14 when the two sides met in the NRL 9’s, which is a pre-season tournament.
Parramatta
The Eels made it three wins from four starts and seven wins from their opening eight games with their mammoth 42-4 win over the Cowboys last weekend.
Parramatta were top class last week with winger Maiko Sivo scoring four tries and man of the match Clint Guntherson pulling the strings.
As note earlier, the Eels have a very healthy recent record over the Knights but if you look back to the last five games between the sides it’s actually their opponents who have the upper hand having won three of the last five games. Things seemed to have changed, however, and the Eels look the far better side headed into this one.
Verdict: Parramatta
I can’t see the Eels having any problems here. They’re in solid form while Newcastle tends to struggle after a win.
Round 9 Tips
Roosters Minus
Warriors Win
Wests Tigers Win
Panthers Win
Broncos Win
Storm Win
Sea Eagles Win
