NRL finals week 2: Warriors v Knights betting tips
The Warriors host the Newcastle Knights in New Zealand’s national stadium Eden Park in Auckland on Sunday, and the Wahs are under tremendous pressure to deliver a resounding win.
They have had a tremendous NRL season but now it’s on the brink of amounting to nothing after they coughed up a 16-8 lead with 20 minutes to play last weekend in their 26-16 loss to the red-hot Dolphins. It was a devastating finale for the home team.
NRL finals week 2: Roosters v Sharks betting preview
The Warriors are dominant favourites for this clash agsinst the Knights and rightly so, but they certainly will have some doubts about their chances of booking a preliminary final against title favourites the Panthers.
The Warriors boast an outstanding recent record against the Knights, winning six of the past seven clashes between the teams, by an average of a tick over 16 points.
The most recent clash came only three weeks ago and the Warriors won a crazy encounter 46-32 at Mt Smart Stadium. That was not the dominant display the scoreline suggests as the Knights played with 12 men for most of the game as star forward Jacob Saifiti was sent off in the 12th minute. The Knights scored four tries while a man down and it was only late in the game that the Warriors pulled clear.
Warriors v Knights team news
Warriors: The Warriors’ cause is not helped by an ankle injury to star forward Jackson Ford, who lasted only 24 minutes of his comeback game from a pectoral injury against the Dolphins. One to keep an eye out for on game day is talismanic winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (collarbone), who has not played since round 25 but is listed in the reserves. Leka Halasima (hamstring) is also listed among the reserves, while English back-rower Morgan Gannon joins the bench.
Knights: The Knights have stuck solid with the 19-man squad that beat the Rabbitohs in the opening week of the finals, but there is a watch on Origin back-rower Dylan Lucas (fractured ankle), who has been named among the reserves but ha not played since round 21. Of couse, they will feel the absence of suspended prop Jacob Saifiti.
Wahs ease in NRL title betting
Heading into the finals, the Wahs were riding high and rated second favourites to land the NRL title behind the powerful but seemingly vulnerable Panthers.
Now, the Warriors will have to do it the hard way: overcome a confident Newcastle, travel to Sydney and upset the Panthers on their home turf and then likely face the rampaging Dolphins again in the grand final.
Bookies have eased their odds of winning the title out to $7 and I for one would not be keen to take those odds.
The Knight are given little chance by sportsbooks and sit around $31 to make a magical run and lift the silveware.
Read on for our Warriors v Knights tips and winner prediction for their NRL qualifying final clash.
Warriors v Knights match information
- Kick-off: 4.05pm AEDT, Sunday, September 20
- Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
- Head to head odds: Warriors $1.48, Knights $2.70
- Line betting: Warriors (-5.5 points) $1.83, Knights (+5.5 points) $1.98
- Match total: 44.5 points: over $1.90, under $1.90
2026 NRL premiership betting
$2.40 Penrith Panthers
$3.10 Redcliffe Dolphins
$7 New Zealand Warriors
$10 Sydney Roosters
$21 Cronulla Sharks
$31 Newcastle Knights
Warriors v Knights betting tips
The fantastic Eden Park may be a fortress for the All Blacks but is has not been a happy hunting ground for the NZ Warriors: they have lost five of the six games played at the venue.
But this Sunday you can expected close to 50,000 rabid Kiwis urging their team on and that hostile environment might just give them the edge they need. Their forward pack can be brutal at times, too.
The Knights have serious attacking weapons in the likes of fullback Kalyn Ponga, Bradman Best and Fletcher Sharpe, and they had no trouble scoring against the Warriors in their recent encounter though. But the Wahs surely can’t let this golden opportunity slip.
Warriors by 14 points.
- Warriors to win / Match total over 44.5 points at $2.70 with major betting sites.
- Knights winger Greg Marzhew anytime try-scorer at $2.20. He needs only one try to equal the club record for a season.
NRL finals week 2, 2026
- Saturday, September 19: Roosters v Sharks, Allianz Stadium, Sydney | 7.50pm
(winner to play Dolphins in preliminary final) - Sunday, September 20: Warriors v Knights, Eden Park, Auckland | 4.05pm
(winner to play Panthers in preliminary final)
