Raiders and Knights Needing Win
It’s still early days, but the Canberra Raiders and Newcastle Knights need to start showing some form.
NRL lines have the Raiders at -250 in moneyline markets and -7½ with the spread. They’re on the road, so bettors could find value in sport betting markets with the home side.
Raiders on the Rise
Despite currently sitting outside the top eight, the Raiders come off an impressive 24-20 win over the Sharks.
It was much needed for Ricky Stuart’s men, who had lost to the North Queensland Cowboys 19-18, and Dolphins 20-14, in two previous games.
Having only one win from three games isn’t where the Raiders expected to be, and most NRL news outlets had them winning at least two early games. However, they will be confident of beating the Knights, who also have only one win and that came against the lowly Tigers.
Our interest is whether the Raiders are good enough to cover the -7½ spread. They haven’t proven to be better than one converted try better than any other team, so can they score a comfortable win on Sunday?
They are 2-0 against the Knights from their last two games, but the winning margin was two and six points respectively, so that adds weight to the Knights’ chances of covering the number.
They are also without Danny Levi, following a broken jaw, which left doctors trying to pick up his teeth on the field. Coach Stuart was happy with the win against the Sharks considering.
“That’s why you get excited about these types of wins, when you’re troops down and these boys get their opportunity,” Stuart said. “They jump up and they take it with both hands.”
Knights Not Shimmering
Las Vegas odds is right to have the Knights as +175 underdogs given their form. They lost 20-12 to the Warriors before beating the Tigers, in what was an awful game quality wise.
They then lost to the Dolphins 36-20, so the form doesn’t stack up well for the Newcastle-based team. However, it’s usually a close game between the Raiders, so that adds weight to their chances of covering the sportsbook spread.
Going in their favor are the home ground statistics. The Knights win at a 59% clip, but the Raiders have won just five of their 17 attempts at McDonald Jones Stadium, so it hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the visitors.
Getting Kurt Mann and Tyson Frizell back from injury helps. They are still without their best player in Kayln Ponga, but those reinforcements helps their cause.
The Knights are good enough to turn up and cover the spread.
Raiders vs Knights Head-to-Head
The Raiders have a 21-20-2 advantage from 43 games, including the last two.
The most recent meeting came last year in August when the Raiders traveled to Newcastle and emerged victorious 28-22.
Raiders vs Knights Game Information
- Game: Raiders (1-2) vs Knights (1-2)
- Day/Time: Sunday, March 26th, 1:05 a.m. ET
- Location: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle, NSW
- Raiders vs Knights Live Stream: RugbyPass
Raiders vs Knights Betting Lines
Raiders vs Knights Picks and Prediction
Our NRL picks have the Knights covering the spread. They are not an easy team to follow, but playing at home is a big advantage, and the Raiders haven’t been anything special.
It’s an ideal time for the Knights to show up and give their fans something to cheer about on Sunday.
The Raiders are listed at -250 in our Vegas Rugby lines. This means that if you wager $100 on Raiders, you have a chance to win $40. The Knights are +175, offering a chance to win $175 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives the Raidersa 71.43% chance to win, with the Knights at 36.36%.
