Ultimate Guide: Dragons 1-17 for McKinnon Cup

The nib Newcastle Knights will be determined to put their Round 3 loss behind them when they take on the St George Illawarra Dragons this Easter Sunday at McDonald Jones Stadium.

The two teams will also play for a piece of silverware in the Alex McKinnon Cup.

The Knights went down to the Wests Tigers 24-20 last start and Sunday's fixture will serve as an opportunity to return to winning ways.

For the Knights, it's also Voice for Mining Round meaning the red and blue will be substituted for the orange high-vis jumper on Sunday to represent and connect with mining communities in our region.

Here is your Ultimate Guide to the Newcastle Knights Round 4 clash with the Dragons, brought to you by Mine Super.

NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS v ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS

Date: Sunday, April 4

Kick-off: 4:05pm

NSW Cup: 1:30pm

Gates: 1:15pm

Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Since: 1999

Played: 40

Knights: 13

Dragons: 27

TEAMS

Both Adam O'Brien and Anthony Griffin have confirmed their rosters ahead of Sunday afternoon.

The Dragons are 1-17, with the lone change coming in the Knights bench, with Connor Watson dropping back for Sauaso Sue.

Knights

1. Tex Hoy, 2. Starford To'a, 3. Gehamat Shibasaki, 4. Enari Tuala, 5. Hymel Hunt, 6. Kurt Mann, 7. Mitchell Pearce, 8. David Klemmer, 9. Jayden Brailey (c), 10. Daniel Saifiti (c), 11. Tyson Frizell, 12. Mitch Barnett, 14. Sauaso Sue. Interchange: 13. Connor Watson, 15. Jacob Saifiti, 16. Josh King, 17. Blake Green.

Dragons

1. Matt Dufty, 2. Cody Ramsey, 3. Brayden Wiliame, 4. Zac Lomax, 5. Mikaele Ravalawa, 6. Corey Norman, 7. Adam Clune, 8. Blake Lawrie, 9. Andrew McCullogh (c), 10. Paul Vaughan, 11. Josh Kerr, 12. Tariq Sims, 13. Tyrell Fuimaono. Interchange: 14. Poasa Faamausili, 15. Trent Merrin, 16. Daniel Alvaro, 17. Jackson Ford.

TEAM NEWS

Fans can be excited with the huge inclusion of Blake Green in the team who is set to make his return from a long-term ACL injury against St George Illawarra this Sunday.

The experienced playmaker has been named on the bench and will wear jersey 17.

Starford To'a has also returned to the starting line-up with Dom Young moving back to the extended bench along with Brodie Jones.

Tyson Frizell will play against his old team for the first time since arriving at the Knights in the off-season. Frizell played 165 games for the Dragons between 2013 and 2020.

Dragons halfback Ben Hunt has been ruled out for the away side after suffering a fibula fracture sustained in their Round 2 clash against Manly. Adam Clune has replace him at No.7.

Knights v Dragons Round 4 NRL team list

THREE GAMES IN

The 2021 NRL Season is now settling into its weekly rhythm after an incredible and high-quality opening three rounds.

The Knights and Dragons have played three games each with both putting two wins on the board.

The Dragons have impressed in the last two rounds with wins over North Queensland in Round 2 and a comprehensive 38-12 result over Manly last start.

The Knights faltered last round but still have four points to their name while a victory over the Dragons would strengthen their position on the table.

After this game, the Knights will entertain a run of fixtures which includes the Titans (A), Sharks (H), Panthers (A) and Roosters (H).

SLAYING THE DRAGON

Newcastle have enjoyed the upper-hand over the Dragons in their most recent meetings having defeated St George Illawarra in the previous fixture last season.

A strong 42-18 victory in Round 19 at McDonald Jones Stadium in the latter stages of 2020 will bring confidence to the Knights ranks.

The team will also be running out in the Voice for Mining high-vis jumper and the last time the side wore the bright kit against the Red V, they achieved a similar result.

A Mitchell Pearce masterclass in Mudgee guided the high-vis Knights to 45-12 victory in 2019.

However, the Dragons have the lead on the overall record count with 27 wins to the Knights 13 since the joint venture joined the competition in 1999.

Important information regarding Rd4 GA access

ALEX MCKINNON CUP

Newcastle and St George Illawarra will contest for a very important piece of silverware on Sunday.

The two clubs will play for the Alex McKinnon Cup for the seventh season running in tribute and recognition to an inspiring figure in our game in Alex McKinnon.

McKinnon had a brief stint with the Dragons in 2011 where he made his NRL debut before making the move to Newcastle in 2012.

He played 46 games for the Knights before he was forced into playing retirement after suffering a spinal injury against Melbourne in 2014.

Alex is now apart of the Knights recruitment team as a recruitment officer while the Knights will look to hold onto the cup for the third straight game.

STAT ATTACK

Jayden Brailey has been highly consistent so far this season and has risen to the top of the NRL tackle count with 164 tackles so far this season at an average of just under 55 tackles a game.

Tex Hoy was one of Newcastle's best on ground in their narrow loss to the Tigers and sits third on total runs made with 61. Only Brian To'o from Penrith and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck from the Warriors have made more runs.

Second-row forward Mitch Barnett has been looking to involve more second-phase play into his game in 2021 and sits equal-third in the NRL for offloads with nine.

For the away team, Dragons centre Zac Lomax is the current leading point scorer in the NRL with 40 points.

Lomax scored 22 points including two tries and seven goals against the Sea Eagles last round to equal Amos Roberts, Jamie Soward and Gareth Widdop for the most points in a match by a Dragons player.