- 1 Knights vs Sea Eagles: Manly have coughed up 150 points in 4 games
- 2 Knights: Ponga, Best and Saifiti back for one last home stand
- 3 Sea Eagles: Tom Trbojevic is back, but it does not fix everything
- 4 NRL prediction Newcastle Knights vs Manly Sea Eagles
- 5 First, a word on our free tips
- 6 No obligation on our part
- 7 Information can change
- 8 Your role
- 9 Responsible gambling comes first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the images…
Knights vs Sea Eagles: Manly have coughed up 150 points in 4 games 
Saturday at 15:00 local time, Manly head to McDonald Jones Stadium for Round 25. The Knights are playing their final home game before the finals.
Newcastle sit sixth and are chasing a top-four spot, backed up by three straight wins. Justin Holbrook has turned a side that was carrying the wooden spoon into a genuine title contender.
Kalyn Ponga has been central to it all. The full-back is back at the level that won him the Dally M Medal in 2023, and right now the entire Newcastle attack runs through him.
Manly, down in 10th, trail eighth place by six points. The Sea Eagles have to win their final three matches and hope for help elsewhere if they are going to sneak into the finals.
The head-to-head is already leaning the home side’s way, with Newcastle winning three of the last four meetings. The gap in form only widens that edge.
McDonald Jones Stadium will host Newcastle’s final home test before the finals. A big win would keep the heat on the sides sitting in the top four.
Knights: Ponga, Best and Saifiti back for one last home stand 
Three wins on the bounce have dragged Newcastle back into the top-four chase, and with it the promise of a double chance if they make it. The regular season is down to the wire now.
Holbrook gets bodies back for this one. Centre Bradman Best returns after missing two games with a calf injury, filling the gap left by Dane Gagai, who is sidelined with a hamstring issue.
Prop Jacob Saifiti is also back after six games out, again because of a hamstring problem. Cody Hopwood drops to the bench as a result.
Veteran Tyson Frizell starts in the back row in place of Francis Manuleleua, who was ruled out this week after a late concussion symptom flare-up. Newcastle still keep plenty of experience in the pack despite that setback.
Out wide, Dominic Young looks the main threat. He has scored 10 tries in his last six games against Manly. That is a serious return against any one opponent.
At halfback, Fletcher Sharpe is in rich touch, with five tries in his last three outings. Newcastle are putting out their strongest side for weeks.
This season has been one of the biggest turnarounds in the competition: from last place to legitimate contenders in a single year. Holbrook has tightened up the defence and given Ponga licence to play what he sees.
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Sea Eagles: Tom Trbojevic is back, but it does not fix everything 
Six straight defeats have dragged Manly from finals hopefuls to a side fighting for survival. Conceding 150 points across their last four matches says plenty about where the problem lies.
The bright spot is at the back: Tom Trbojevic returns after missing three games with a hamstring injury. His presence changes the Sea Eagles’ first phase of attack.
The halves have been thrown around again. Joey Walsh has a broken jaw picked up in last Friday’s clash with the Dolphins, which pushes Clayton Faulalo into the No. 6 jersey.
Ben Trbojevic has cleared concussion protocols and returns to the back row, sending Corey Waddell to the bench. Prop Caleb Navale will play his first NRL game of the season, after working back through the NSW Cup following an ACL injury.
Haumole Olakau’atu is Manly’s biggest attacking weapon in this one. He has scored six tries in his last seven games against Newcastle and clearly enjoys this matchup.
Even so, the trip to the Knights looks a brutal one. Manly can still rack up points when Tom Trbojevic and Jason Saab are in the same team, with Reuben Garrick and Tolutau Koula outside them. The issue is simple enough: they cannot hold the line for 80 minutes.
The pack has been reshuffled too, with Caleb Navale back in and Nicholas Lenaz added to the rotation. The bench lacks rhythm against a Newcastle forward unit that is finally close to full strength.
Expected Newcastle Knights line-up: Ponga ; Young, Hunt, Best, Marzhew ; Sharpe, Smith ; Saifiti, Crossland, Mooney, McEwen, Frizell, Croker. Interchange: Graham, Hopwood, Crouch, Cant.
Expected Manly Sea Eagles line-up: Tom Trbojevic ; Saab, Koula, Garrick, Hopoate ; Faulalo, Fogarty ; Laiafi, Wakeham, Brown, Olakau’atu, Ben Trbojevic, Jake Trbojevic. Interchange: Simpkin, Lenaz, Waddell, Navale.
NRL prediction Newcastle Knights vs Manly Sea Eagles
Our pick: Newcastle Knights -6.5 handicap
Manly have shipped 150 points in their last four games and arrive at Newcastle with a patched-up halves pairing after Joey Walsh’s broken jaw. Tom Trbojevic’s return does little to cancel out that defensive mess.
The Knights, by contrast, have their strongest squad in a long time with Bradman Best and Jacob Saifiti both back, and they are playing their final home game before the finals. Dominic Young, with 10 tries in his last six meetings with Manly, has the perfect stage again.
The margin should be clear: Newcastle to win by more than 6.5 points on Saturday at McDonald Jones Stadium.
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