NRL Saturday: Knights v Storm, predictions & odds, round 5, 2020

Newcastle face perennial power Melbourne Storm at Central Coast Stadium in the closest thing the Knights will get to a home match.

It will also be a wonderful measure of how far the undefeated Knights have come in 2020 as the Storm are one of their bogy teams. The Storm have won the past seven clashes between the teams and triumphed 34-4 in their only clash last year.

The Knights have been a free-scoring team, while Melbourne seem to be quickly adjusting to the new six-again ruck rules which many believed would hamper their wrestling tactics around the ruck.

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This is the second match of three on Super Saturday: the earlier match is South Sydney v Gold Coast at Bankwest Stadium from 3pm, while West Tigers face the Canberra Raiders at Campbelltown Stadium at 7.35pm.

The Storm finally got something going in attach last week against South Sydney in their 22-8 win but the attacking side of their game is still a concern; they are the lowest-scoring team in the top eight on the table after four matches.

Read on for our best bets and winner prediction for the Knights v Storm clash at Gosford on Saturday, June 13.

Knights v Storm odds

Kick-off: 5.30pm local time
Venue: Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Head to head odds: Newcastle $2.38, Melbourne $1.60
Line betting: Newcastle (+3.5 points) $1.97, Melbourne (-3.5 points) $1.83
Match total: 39.5 points: over $1.88, under $1.92

Knights v Storm free betting tips

Below our NRL betting expert has highlighted his free tips for the Knights v Storm clash.

Newcastle +3.5 points at $1.97

We are yet to be fully convinced Melbourne are the dominant force they have been in past season, while the Knights are perhaps being underestimate a little. Take the $1.97 with leading bookmaker Unibet with the points start.

Total tries under 6.5 at $2.07

Newcastle have shown they can defend, while we know Melbourne can. The Storm have struggled for points but they have also strangled the life out of most of their opponents. We think four-pointers will be hard to come by.

Newcastle Knights v Melbourne Storm prediction

This is the match of the day and the chance for the Knights to announce themselves as genuine finals contenders. They are one of the feelgood stories of the NRL at the moment after a few years in the doldrums. This will be tough against Craig Bellamy’s men but the steel they showed in holding Penrith to 14-14 a fortnight ago when a couple of players down will hold them in good stead here. Knights in a close one.

Knights v Storm lowdown