Newcastle Knights vs North Queensland Cowboys Preview & Prediction | 2026 NRL

Click here for today’s sports betting tips from our expert analysts!

The 2026 NRL season gets underway in Las Vegas, Nevada as the Newcastle Knights take on the North Queensland Cowboys in the opening match at Allegiant Stadium

Start date/time:

How to watch on TV: UK – Sky Sports / Australia – Channel 9 / US – Some matches are televised live on Fox Sports

How to watch online: UK – Sky Go & Watch NRL / Australia – 9Now / US – Watch NRL, and if the match is televised in the USA it can also be streamed live on Fox Sports platforms

Newcastle Knights team news

The Knights get their season underway with the welcome return of captain Kalyn Ponga who missed the second half of last season through injury. They are also buoyed by the news that Dane Gagai and Fletcher Sharpe have recovered from injuries of their own, while they can also count upon star newcomer Dylan Brown for this opener.

Squad: 1 Kalyn Ponga, 2 Dominic Young, 3 Dane Gagai, 4 Bradman Best, 5 Greg Marzhew, 6 Fletcher Sharpe, 7 Dylan Brown, 8 Jacob Saifiti, 9 Phoenix Crossland, 10 Trey Mooney, 11 Dylan Lucas, 12 Jermaine McEwen, 13 Tyson Frizell, 14 Sandon Smith, 15 Mat Croker, 16 Thomas Cant, 17 Pasami Saulo, 18 Fletcher Hunt, 19 Francis Manuleleua, 20 Tyson Gamble, 21 Cody Hopwood, 22 James Schiller

North Queensland Cowboys team news

The Cowboys come into their opening match slightly under-strength as they will be without the suspended Zac Laybutt who picked up a two-game ban in pre-season. In addition, John Bateman and Griffin Neame are not quite 100% fit so they are listed as 18 and 19 for this match. They are however boosted by new man Reed Mahoney and they will expect the hooker to hit the ground running.

Squad: 1 Scott Drinkwater, 2 Braidon Burns, 3 Jaxon Purdue, 4 Tom Chester, 5 Murray Taulagi, 6 Jake Clifford, 7 Tom Dearden, 8 Coen Hess, 9 Reed Mahoney, 10 Jason Taumalolo, 11 Heilum Luki, 12 Sam McIntyre, 13 Reuben Cotter, 14 Soni Luke, 15 Thomas Mikaele, 16 Harrison Edwards, 17 Kai O’Donnell, 18 Griffin Neame, 19 John Bateman, 20 Liam Sutton, 21 Matthew Lodge, 22 Robert Derby

Newcastle Knights vs North Queensland Cowboys prediction

After pretty mediocre 2025 campaigns, the Newcastle Knights and the North Queensland Cowboys come into the 2026 NRL season Hoping to make significant improvement. The Knights finished bottom of the ladder last year while Cowboys finished in 12th position.

The Knights actually started last season in good form winning that opening two matches and they have an excellent record in the opening round in recent years having won six of their past eight round one matches.

They did however finish last season in abysmal form having lost their last nine matches and suffering some extremely heavy losses. It will need a major turnaround for them to have any chance of challenging for the playoffs in 2026.

The Cowboys will have a touch more positivity coming into this season but they too need to make plenty of improvements. It is no surprise to see them as marginal favourites to win this match however as they have won the last five meetings between these two teams.

These matches in Las Vegas can be somewhat unpredictable however and so much depends on the preparation of the two teams. Our preference certainly lies with the Cowboys but we do have concerns as to whether they will be fully up to speed for this opening match.

Our play in this match is on total points and with both teams eager to put on a show, we strongly like over 42.5 total points in this one.

Newcastle Knights vs North Queensland Cowboys tip: Over 42.5 total points