Dolphins v Knights: Aitken sidelined; Same 17 for O'Brien

The Knights continue to surge towards the finals and will look to make it five wins on the bounce against a Dolphins outfit that went down in a heartbreaker against the Bulldogs last week.

Sitting 14th and floundering after a loss to Penrith in Round 17, the Kalyn Ponga-inspired Knights have peeled off wins over the Bulldogs, Wests Tigers, Storm and Raiders to close to within one point of the top eight.

Ponga has come up with seven try assists, 26 tackle breaks and 54 points across those four games to breath new life into the Knights' season and remind everyone of his sublime talents.

The Dolphins have plenty of attacking weapons of their own but looked out of sync in Bundaberg on Sunday as handling errors and poor last-tackle options cost them dearly against the Bulldogs.

After starting the year so strongly and knocking off heavyweights like the Roosters, Raiders, Cowboys and Sharks along the way, Wayne Bennett's men will be desperate to avoid a late fadeout that takes the gloss off their debut season.

Team news
Dolphins: Kodi Nikorima moves from five-eighth to centre in place of Euan Aitken (knee) and Anthony Milford slots in at No.6 after an impressive cameo off the bench on Sunday. Connelly Lemuelu (head knock) has been named to play and Isaiya Katoa is the new face on the bench. The squad remained 1-17 in Friday's 24-hour update. 

Knights: Prop Daniel Saifiti (quad) remains sidelined so coach Adam O'Brien has named the same 17-man squad that downed the Raiders in Round 22 to make it four wins in a row. No changes on Friday, with Enari Tuala and Dylan Lucas remaining in the reserves.

Original article by: NRL.com

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NRL.com