NRL Betting Preview: Dragons can ease past Knights by 11-20 points

Recommended NRL bet: Winning Margin – St George Illawarra Dragons to Win by 11-20 points @ 3/1 (4.00) with Unibet

Table-topping St George Illawarra Dragons welcome the Newcastle Knights to the WIN Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Both teams have started the season surprisingly well, with the Dragons having one of only two remaining 100% records after three games and the Knights winning both of their opening games, before going down to a 38-8 drubbing at Sydney Roosters last weekend.

The Dragons head coach Paul McGregor is, unsurprisingly, not expected to make any changes to a winning team following the 54-8 thrashing of the Gold Coast Titans last Sunday.

That comprehensive victory, in which the Dragons ran home nine tries against the woeful Titans, also ensured that the Dragons were the first team to break through 100 points scored this season.  It’s not only in attack that the Dragons have impressed either, with only the Roosters and Wests Tigers having conceded fewer points than the 36 that the Dragons have given up.

For their part, the Knights will have at least one enforced change after having lost Connor Watson to a shoulder injury in their defeat to the Roosters.  Brock Lamb replaces the injured Watson at five-eighth, while Chris Heighington will return to the bench after being a late withdrawal on Sunday.

There was one win apiece in last season’s matches, with the Dragons winning 32-28 at the WIN Jubilee Oval in round 16 and the Knights gaining revenge with a 21-14 victory at Hunter Stadium in round 21.

With home advantage and recent form in their favour, it’s difficult to bet against the Dragons here.  They are too short to back on the match result outcome, with best betting odds of around 4/11 (1.38) available.

A better option could be to look at the winning margin and with the Dragons currently scoring for fun, it could pay to look for them to register another healthy victory.   Backing them to win by between 11 and 20 points is offered at 3/1 (4.00) with Unibet, which looks to be a decent bet against a Knights team that were well beaten a week ago.