NRL Round 10 Preview - Knights v Panthers @ McDonald Jones Stadium

Newcastle Knights v Penrith Panthers @ McDonald Jones Stadium
 
Preview - Both the Knights and Panthers will be looking to bounce back from losses when they collide at McDonald Jones Stadium In Newcastle on Friday night. The Knights were no match for the Rabbitohs, going down 36-18 as they failed to quell the attacking threat posed by a rampant South Sydney team. The Panthers were missing a few key players in going down 26-20 to the Cowboys in Bathurst, despite valiantly rallying from a 20-0- deficit early in the game. 
 
Newcastle Knights’ Scouting Report - Nathan Brown has made a host of changes with Brock Lamb recalled at halfback in place of Jack Cogger. Josh King has been named for his first game of the year, with veteran Jacob Lillian dropped to reserve grade. Luke Yates and Danny Levi have also been called into the 17 on the bench, with Jamie Buhrer and Jacob Saifiti dropping to reserves.
 
Penrith Panthers’ Scouting Report - Trent Merrin  has been named despite breaking a finger in the warm up last week and being forced out of the game. Moses Leota and Jack Hetherington are out with injury and suspension respectively and are replaced on the bench by Jarome Luai and Kaide Ellis.
 
Verdict - Panthers by 4-12 in a high scoring game

Penrith are just a better side than Newcastle and, despite a few injuries, I think they have enough firepower in them to get over a Knights’ side that are missing Mitchell Pearce. The Panthers got off to an awful start last week, after the late withdrawal of Trent Merrin in the warm up, trailing 20-0, however I was really impressed by their second half where their forwards showed speed and agility in storming back into the game against the Cowboys.  The Knights tried hard, but to me are a little too reliant on Kalyn Ponga producing magic each week to get the required points to win games without Pearce. I expect this game to be high scoring and entertaining, but the Panthers to prevail by a try or 10 points.