Newcastle return home after a fortnight on the road and will be hoping to secure their first victory in the NRLW when they host St George Illawarra on Sunday.
The Knights are the only side in the competition who remain winless and face a Dragons outfit coming off a spirited loss at the hands of the Broncos.
Newcastle did themselves no favours against the Roosters at the SCG in round three and will need to tidy up some basic areas to give themselves a chance of causing an upset.
The Dragons will take plenty of confidence into the match and won't be overawed by the occasion of facing the Knights in Newcastle.
Match: Knights v Dragons
Round 4 -
home Team
Knights
6th Position
away Team
Dragons
1st Position
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
The Rundown
Team news
Knights: A number of changes for the Knights with Tahlulah Tillett to start at halfback alongside Kirra Dibb with Charntay Poko going to lock.
Prop Ngatokotoru Arakua has been suspended for one game for a dangerous throw so Phoebe Desmond comes into the front row and Maitua Feterika goes to the second row. Georgia Page is out of the side.
Dragons: Kezie Apps, Talei Holmes, Madison Bartlett and Kody House were all named to return after missing last week's loss to Brisbane but Holmes dropped out on Saturday in the 24-hour update and House moves into the starting side.
Tegan Dymock (hand) was named on the bench but was omitted on Saturday along with Janelle Williams. Coming onto the bench are Renee Targett, Aliti Namoce and Alexandra Sulusi.
Keele Browne (head knock) was initially named among the reserves but dropped out of the squad on Saturday.
Match: Knights v Dragons
Round 4 -
home Team
Knights
away Team
Dragons
Team Lists
Backs
-
Fullback for Knights is number 1 Romy TeitzelFullback for Dragons is number 1 Emma Tonegato
-
Winger for Knights is number 2 Katelyn Vaha'akoloWinger for Dragons is number 2 Teagan Berry
-
Centre for Knights is number 3 Jayme FressardCentre for Dragons is number 3 Jaime Chapman
-
Centre for Knights is number 4 Bobbi LawCentre for Dragons is number 4 Page McGregor
-
Winger for Knights is number 6 Autumn-Rain Stephens-DalyWinger for Dragons is number 5 Madison Bartlett
-
Five-Eighth for Knights is number 17 Kirra DibbFive-Eighth for Dragons is number 6 Taliah Fuimaono
-
Halfback for Knights is number 7 Tahlulah TillettHalfback for Dragons is number 7 Rachael Pearson
Forwards
-
Prop for Knights is number 10 Annetta-Claudia Nu'uausalaProp for Dragons is number 8 Elsie Albert
-
Hooker for Knights is number 9 Krystal RotaHooker for Dragons is number 9 Keeley Davis
-
Prop for Knights is number 16 Phoebe DesmondProp for Dragons is number 10 Kezie Apps
-
2nd Row for Knights is number 11 Rangimarie Edwards-Bruce2nd Row for Dragons is number 12 Shaylee Bent
-
2nd Row for Knights is number 18 Maitua Feterika2nd Row for Dragons is number 15 Kody House
-
Lock for Knights is number 13 Charntay PokoLock for Dragons is number 13 Holli Wheeler
Interchange
-
Interchange for Knights is number 14 Emma ManzelmannInterchange for Dragons is number 14 Quincy Dodd
-
Interchange for Knights is number 15 Charlotte ScanlanInterchange for Dragons is number 18 Renee Targett
-
Interchange for Knights is number 19 Kyra SimonInterchange for Dragons is number 21 Aliti Namoce
-
Interchange for Knights is number 22 Kararaina Wira-KohuInterchange for Dragons is number 22 Alexandra Sulusi
Reserves
-
Replacement for Knights is number 11 Chantelle GrahamReplacement for Dragons is number 20 Shellie Long
Match Officials
- Senior Review Official: Matt Noyen
Last updated:
Key match-up
Krystal Rota v Keeley Davis: Two dummy halves at the opposite ends of their careers but still so influential to their sides. The last time both these players met in 2019, Davis was on international debut for the Jillaroos while Rota was playing in her 10th Test match for New Zealand. Both bring a similiar style of play for their sides and can move into the lock role if needed during the match.
Stat attack
Newcastle are proving difficult to stop in stages of their matches with 76 tackle busts ranking them second behind Brisbane and just ahead of the Dragons (68). Defensively though they're struggling in comparison to the Dragons with 89 total missed tackles the past three weeks compared to the Red V's 59.
And another thing
Rachael Pearson's long kicking game is proving a nightmare for rival teams with the Dragons playmaker accurate with yardage off the boot.
Pearson's strike from a kick-restart was rated 93% according to Sportable while she was able to produce 43.1 metres.
