VENUE & TIME: EnergyAustralia Stadium, Saturday March 20, 7.30pm (AEDT).
COVERAGE: Fox Sports
HEAD TO HEADPlayed 23, Knights 12, Storm 11
LAST TIME: Knights 26 - Storm 14 at EnergyAustralia Stadium, Round 23, 2009
MATCH ODDS: Luxbet: Knights $2.35, Storm $1.60
WALKING WOUNDED: Isaac De Gois (knee) and Adam MacDougall (knee) make their 2010 NRL debuts for the Knights on Saturday evening after missing the club's stirring opening round victory over the Bulldogs. De Gois, returning from knee surgery, actually played 50 minutes in the lower grades, coming through with flying colours. Unfortunately, Kiwi centre Junior Sau suffered cracked ribs and will miss a couple of weeks. He joins skipper Kurt Gidley (hamstring) and winger James McManus (ankle) on the injured list.
The Storm have their own injury worries, losing Test back-rower Ryan Hoffman for 4-6 weeks with knee medial ligament damage that required surgery. Cooper Cronk (groin/hip), prop Brett White (shoulder), new recruit Chase Stanley (shoulder) and forward Sika Manu (broken leg) are other Melbourne players not considered. Former Eel, Todd Lowrie has been named to make his NRL debut for the club after missing the season opener against the Sharks with a groin injury suffered in the World Club Challenge.
FORM: The Knights produced the upset of Round 1, stunning the much-fancied Bulldogs 20-16 in one of the club's rare away wins over the past 12 months. With Forwards Ben Cross, Steve Simpson and Mark Taufua leading the charge up the middle, the Knights laid the platform for victory in a near-perfect first-half that saw them race to a 16-0 lead. Possession evened up in the second stanza, allowing the Bulldogs back into the contest, but the gutsy visitors held on to register a superb backs-to-the-wall result.
The Storm were met by a physical and determined Sharks side at the weekend and reverted to a grinding, no-frills game plan to accommodate their dour rivals. The plan worked (as it usually does), leaving coach Craig Bellamy unbeaten in Round 1 matches since he assumed the top post at the club way back in 2003.
WHO'S HOT: Diminutive Knights full-back Shannon McDonnell did everything asked of him against the Bulldogs last Saturday at ANZ Stadium. The former Wests Tiger was put in some difficult situations and came up trumps on almost every occasion, including a nerve-racking final play which saw him gather in a Jamal Idris kick with a host of Bulldogs players coming in for the kill.
Adam Blair looks set for yet another big season if his performance against the Sharks is anything to go by. The big Kiwi Test star was a handful yet again in attack for the Storm with his footwork at the line providing headaches for less mobile opposition defences.
WE THINK: The Knights have a good recent record when it comes to first home games of the seasons, winning their past five. They also have an impressive record at EnergyAustralia against the Storm, winning nine of their past 12, including a stirring Round 23 victory last year in Rick Stone's first game in charge. With a big Newcastle crowd expected, the hosts will obviously be keen to carry over the momentum from last week. But they will first have to contend with the premiers who are masters of reducing the pace of a game if it