Easter Sunday will mark the fourth time that the nib Newcastle Knights have played for the Alex McKinnon Cup against the St George Illawarra Dragons.
Both teams will battle it out for the trophy named in McKinnon’s honour, whose career was cut short by a spinal injury suffered in a match against the Melbourne Storm in 2014.
The 26-year-old debuted at the Dragons in 2011 before he moved to Newcastle to record 46 first grade appearances for the Club.
The Dragons have won all three previous matches for the Alex McKinnon Cup so far, including their 32-28 win at Jubilee Oval in Round 16 last year.
Knights legend Kurt Gidley said McKinnon had a major influence during his time playing NRL.
“He had a huge influence on us as a Club,” Gidley said.
“He was well respected from his time at Saints and also his time at the Knights and was a great mate of ours.”
Young forward Daniel Saifiti hopes the red and blues can bring the Cup home this weekend.
“Alex was a great player for both clubs, it was devastating what happened to him and hopefully we can get the win for him,” Saifiti said.
Two grades will be in action this Sunday at WIN Stadium, ISP kick off at 1.45pm before NRL at 4.10pm.
