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St George Illawarra Dragons vs Newcastle Knights NRL Round 13 Tips - Dragons dangerous Inside 20m

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Last updated: 27 May 2025
Ryan Tucker 27 May 2025
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  • St George Illawarra Dragons vs Newcastle Knights expert predictions for Friday’s Round 13 NRL game
  • Kick off is at 8:00 PM (AEST) at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
  • St George Illawarra is expected to win against Newcastle Knights.
  • The match is predicted to be low-scoring with Dragons capitalizing on opponents' zone.
  • Key players: Christian Tuipulotu for tries; Fletcher Sharpe's recent form is notable.
St George Illawarra Dragons vs Newcastle Knights NRL Round 13 Tips

St George Illawarra Dragons vs Newcastle Knights, Round 13 2025 - Expert Prediction


St George Illawarra are tipped to win and cover against Newcastle in what is expected to be a low scoring affair at Jubilee Oval.
  • St George Illawarra Dragons vs Newcastle Knights, Round 13 2025 - Expert Prediction
  • Head to Head 
  • St George Illawarra Dragons Form Analysis & Betting Trends
  • Recent Form
  • 2025 Betting Trends
  • St George Illawarra Dragons Team News
  • St George Illawarra Dragons Team List
  • Newcastle Knights Form Analysis & Betting Trends
  • Recent Form
  • 2025 Betting Trends
  • Newcastle Knights Team News
  • Newcastle Knights Team List
  • St George Illawarra Dragons vs Newcastle Knights NRL 2025 Round 13 FAQ’s

Newcastle definitely played well last weekend and it is possible that without Kalyn Ponga they might actually be better, if he doesn’t back up from Origin it might be a closer game than many think.

The Dragons are coming off a bye and will have had ample time to study the Knights defensive patterns to work out how to penetrate the armour that has them ranked as the team with the 2nd fewest opposition points so far this season. 

In the wins the Dragons have had so far this season (Brisbane, Manly, Gold Coast & Melbourne) they have been allowed to camp out in the opposition 20m zone and convert opportunities at a much higher rate than their season average. I can see this happening here with Newcastle giving up the 3rd highest number of opposition Run Metres and the most Tackles to Opponents Inside 20m in the NRL.

Take the Dragons to cover and the Game Total to go Under. Tuipulotu is a good shout for a tryscorer on his return while Fletcher Sharpe has scored first in 2 of the last 4 games.

  • The Dragons score a try for every 7 tackles Inside 20m of an opponent, the highest strike rate in the league. 
  • 3 of the last 4 between these teams have gone Under, 10 of 11 Knights games this year have gone Under.
  • Christian Tuipulotu has scored 7 tries in 5 games this season, the best average of any player in the league to have played more than 1 game.
  • Dragons have allowed the first try in 3 of their last 4 games, Newcastle have scored first in 3 of the last 4 with Fletcher Sharpe scoring two of them.


Head to Head 


The Knights have won 2 in a row and 4 of the last 7 in this head to head matchup dating back to the start of the 2019 season.

The Game Total has gone Under in 3 of the last 4 games while the Winning Margin has been 20 points in 2 straight. 

The Knights are 4-3 ATS in the same time span.

St George Illawarra Dragons Form Analysis & Betting Trends


Recent Form


Last 5 W/LLast 5 ATSLast 5 O/U
2-33-24-1

The Dragons had the bye last weekend and are coming off a dramatic 30-26 win over the Brisbane Broncos in Round 11 at Suncorp Stadium. St George Illawarra scored 4 second half tries to 2 with Clint Gutherson and Tyrell Sloan both picking up a double in the contest.

St George were beaten soundly in most of the statistical measures but the Dragons took advantage of the chances afforded to them to score 26 second half points despite having just 35% territory and having a man in the sin-bin for 10 minutes.

The Dragons are outside the top 10 in Run Metres, Tackles in Opposition 20m, Possession and Territory but rank 3rd in the league in Linebreaks at 5.9 per game.

2025 Betting Trends


ATSOver/Under1-1213+
5-56-43-51-1

St George Illawarra Dragons Team News


Val Holmes is the only Origin player in the team and he has been named to start just two days after Game 1. There is no proper cover in the reserves either meaning a forward shuffle would likely occur if Holmes can’t back up.

Christian Tuipulotu also returns to the backline pushing Corey Allan out of the side. Dylan Egan is out for the season with an ACL injury, Luciano Leilua starts in his spot with Toby Couchman returning on the bench ahead of schedule.

St George Illawarra Dragons Team List


1. Clint Gutherson 
2. Tyrell Sloan
3. Moses Suli
4. Valentine Holmes
5. Christian Tuipulotu
6. Lyhkan King-Togia
7. Kyle Flanagan
8. Jack de Belin 
9. Damien Cook
10. David Klemmer 
11. Luciano Leilua 
12. Jaydn Su'A
13. Hamish Stewart 

Interchange
14. Jacob Liddle
15. Toby Couchman 
16. Loko Pasifiki Tonga
17. Blake Lawrie 

Reserves
18. Emre Guler
19. Raymond Faitala-Mariner
20. Lachlan Ilias
21. Nathan Lawson 
22. Hame Sele


Newcastle Knights Form Analysis & Betting Trends


Recent Form


Last 5 W/LLast 5 ATSLast 5 O/U
2-32-30-5

The Knights put together one of the best performances of the season so far, if not THE best - beating Penrith 25-6 at Bathurst on the weekend.

Dylan Lucas crossed for a hat-trick and could have almost had 4 tries as Fletcher Sharpe absolutely destroyed the Panthers defence, filling in for Kalyn Ponga at fullback. Sharpe had 242 Run Metres, a try, 4 linebreaks and was instrumental in a number of plays throughout the game which gave the Knights momentum.

Worth noting is that it is only the 3rd time this season the Knights have scored more than 20 points in a game and the Panthers are ranked 12th in opposition points and are last on the NRL ladder.

2025 Betting Trends


ATSOver/Under1-1213+
3-81-101-13-6

Newcastle Knights Team News


Kalyn Ponga has been named to back from Origin but if he doesn’t Fletcher Sharpe would likely revert back to fullback with Jack Cogger covering in the halves.

Leo Thompson didn’t play last weekend but is back in the team for this matchup with Brodie Jones falling to the interchange and Paul Bryan out. Mat Croker is the new lock with Adam Elliot sustaining an injury.

Jack Hetherington joins the bench as well.

Newcastle Knights Team List


1. Kalyn Ponga
2. James Schiller
3. Dane Gagai
4. Kyle McCarthy
5. Fletcher Hunt 
6. Fletcher Sharpe
7. Tyson Gamble 
8. Tyson Frizell 
9. Phoenix Crossland
10. Leo Thompson
11. Dylan Lucas 
12. Kai Pearce-Paul 
13. Mat Croker 

Interchange
14. Jayden Brailey 
15. Jack Hetherington 
16. Brodie Jones 
17. Thomas Cant  

Reserves
18. Jack Cogger 
19. Jermaine McEwen
20. Matthew Arthur 
21. Connor Votano
22. Elijah Salesa-Leaumoana


St George Illawarra Dragons vs Newcastle Knights NRL 2025 Round 13 FAQ’s

How to watch St George Illawarra Dragons vs Newcastle Knights NRL 2025 Round 13?

You can watch the St George Illawarra Dragons vs Newcastle Knights NRL 2025 Round 13 game via Fox Sports or Kayo Sports. If you are watching from outside of Australia the WatchNRL app is the perfect solution.

How to buy tickets to St George Illawarra Dragons vs Newcastle Knights NRL 2025 Round 13?

To buy tickets to the St George Illawarra Dragons vs Newcastle Knights NRL 2025 Round 13 game check the NRL website or the official St George Illawarra Dragons site.

Verdict

Take the Dragons to cover and the Game Total to go Under. Tuipulotu is a good shout for a tryscorer on his return while Fletcher Sharpe has scored first in 2 of the last 4 games.
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