Newcastle Knights 2025 NRL Draw: A Golden Opportunity for Success

The NRL draw is far from fair for all 17 teams. This is a critical element that has a lot of weight when it comes to season ending ladder positions and putting yourself into contention for preliminary finals and premierships.

The Perfect Opportunity for a Fast Start

The first three games offer the perfect opportunity to break the cycle of slow starts seen in 2023 and 2024 with no matches against last year’s top 8 teams.

The Knights begin with an away game against the Tigers on Friday, 7th March—winnable with the right preparation. A home game against the Dolphins on Thursday, 13th March follows, providing a great chance to capitalise on home-ground advantage. The final game in this stretch, against the Titans on Saturday, 22nd March, is away but manageable with early momentum.

The bye in Round 4 is well-timed, giving the team a chance to reset after two away matches. Starting strong this year should be the turning point for a more successful campaign.

2024 Top 8 Challenges and Home Advantage

The Knights face nine games against 2024 top 8 teams, five being hosted at McDonald Jones Stadium and they face only two teams twice—Penrith Panthers and Cronulla Sharks.

Key Away Games: 3 Matches on Neutral Ground

R9: Brisbane Magic Round vs. South Sydney Rabbitohs (Souths Home Match).

R12: Bathurst vs. Penrith Panthers (Panthers Home Match).

R16: Perth vs. Dolphins (Dolphins Home Match).

The Knights have 12 home matches, 3 neutral and 9 away. This is a distinct advantage.

Byes, Short Turnarounds and Distance Travelled

The Knights have byes in Rounds 4, 18, and 22, providing timely rest periods. The draw also features just one short five-day turnaround. A key advantage is 19,017KMs will be travelled compared to the average of 25,152 KMs for the other 16 teams.

Game Days Distribution

The Knights games are well-distributed across the week:

• 2 Thursday games

• 7 Friday games

• 6 Saturday games

• 9 Sunday games

Rising Clubs: The Bottom 9 Teams Poised to Improve

63% of matches are against teams that finished in the bottom 9 in 2024. While playing fewer games against teams that made the 2024 top 8 may look advantageous, it could be misleading. Several bottom 9 teams from last year are showing signs of significant improvement.

• Wests Tigers – With a revamped roster and higher standards, they are expected to be far more competitive.

• Brisbane Broncos – With coach Maguire, they are sure to be more consistent and will probably play finals football.

• South Sydney Rabbitohs – Under Wayne Bennett's leadership, a resurgence is anticipated.

• St. George Illawarra Dragons – With coach Shane Flanagan and upgrades in key positions, the Dragons will be confident of playing finals football.

Key Stat: Out of the teams listed above, the Knights only play one team twice and that is the West Tigers. Another advantage.

Broadcast and Sydney Games

The Knights feature in nine free-to-air games. Additionally, five games are in Sydney.

Fox Sports Rating

Fox Sports has ranked the Knights draw as the 3rd easiest.

Betting Markets - Via www.topsport.com.au

Top 4 Finish: $10

Top 8 Finish: $3.50

Final Thoughts

The draw looks incredibly favorable.

Adam O'Brien has no excuses. It's up to him to manage his roster to ensure they are well positioned when the whips are cracking at the end of the season. The first challenge is to get off to a winning start before the bye in round 4. The key to this is to settle on the right halves combination for round 1 and stick with it (unless injury forces his hand).

Happy Xmas and New Years to all Knighthood supporters. 2025 will be our 2nd year and we are planning on making it a great one!

You can view the Knights full 2025 draw here.

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