NRL Pro Punter Previews - Dolphins v Knights, Round 8 2024

Sunday's early game...

Dolphins v Newcastle Knights
Sunday 2:00pm

Dolphins 1.43
Knights 2.85
Dolphins -7.5 / Knights +7.5

Bet Right Markets

As you know, I was very keen on the Dolphins pre-season and even though they have encountered a shocking injury toll, I am pleased to see them sitting equal third. They have scored more points per game than any other team, which is quite remarkable when you consider they are missing attacking weapons like the Hammer and Farmworth.

This weekend the Dolphins are still without most of their big guns, but as I said pre-season, it was guys like Plath, Keeley, Donoghue, Bostock and Katoa that had me excited about what they could bring in 2024. Bennett recruited these guys at the end of 2022 knowing that they would develop into NRL quality players and as we saw last weekend, their fitness and skill has caught the NRL off-guard.

As I said before the Eels game, bringing in Fuller from QLD Cup to 1 was a great move and he is such a talent that I would nearly keep him there when the Hammer returns. Hammer is a world class centre and has excelled there at Origin and for Australia. With Farmworth and Hammer in the centres, then the Dolphins would have the best centre pairing in the NRL. Fuller is an attacking dynamo and is also reliable in defence. It’s a bold move, but one that is needed if they are to develop into genuine contenders.

As for this week, they are coming up against a Knights team that is down on form and now missing their best player in Ponga. While Coach O’Brien keeps wanting to make excuses and fiddle with his halves combination, it is clear now that the Knights have fallen back across the board in 2024. Guys like Marzhew and Elliott are well down on their 2023 form, while they are sorely missing Dom Young out wide. The Saifiti brothers continue to just go through the motions and Best and Brailey have not provided the class I thought they would.

Their new fullback David Armstrong is a good young player, but he is probably being brought in a little before he is ready (similar to Chevy Stewart in Canberra), so I think the Dolphins should be too good here and continue their winning ways.

Based on their form and likely line ups, I have Dolphins about 18 points better in Brisbane and think they are a great bet at -6.5.

Predicted score: 30 Dolphins - Knights 12

VIP League Members of Champion Bets have THREE early bets lined up for Round 8 and Steve will also be covering the NSW and Queensland Cups with more bets.

You can join the VIP Members right here and use "STATS" for a 20% discount.

------

Let’s be honest - what do you really want from your betting?

For nearly every punter, it boils down to the same things.

You want to win. Of course. Nobody likes losing money. But as you probably know, winning over the long term is hard. Very hard.

You want it to be easy. This isn’t a job for you. It’s a hobby… maybe a bit of a side hustle. But you don’t want  - nor do you have the time - to spend hours and hours each week on trying to decipher where the value in the market is.

You want it to be fun. Nobody got into this for it to be a chore, did they? You want to make good bets, and enjoy riding the outcomes

The easiest solution? NRL Tips with Steve Green of Champion Bets. He’s doing it full-time so that you don’t have to. He’s watching every minute of every game to study the form, and using advanced metrics that the rest of us don’t even know where to find.

Then he sends the best bets of every NRL round straight to you.

Your job? Just bet and enjoy.

MASSIVE BONUS just for being a STATS INSIDER reader!

Get a 20% discount on ANY membership with the promo code "STATS" when you join up at Champion Bets right here.