Newcastle forward Chris Houston has backed Kurt Gidley to excel playing at fullback against the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.
There will be a reshuffle at the back after Josh Mantellato, who was named on the wing, has been unable to train due to a knee injury.
“We’ve had a fairly disrupted season with injuries I suppose," Houston said after the Knights' final training session on Friday.
"But I know Gids is pretty pumped to be back there at fullback and he’ll play with a lot of energy like he always does.
"It’s going to be good... and I’m happy for him to be back there having a game and pushing around the ball.”
The Knights may be struggling for form this season, but Houston remains confident his side can push the Roosters to the limit.
Asked if revenge for last year's Preliminary Final loss to the Tri-Colours could be used as extra motivation, the hard-working forward admitted the 40-14 defeat hasn't even been discussed.
"We are not playing the footy that we were in the semis, so we probably haven’t drawn back on that too much," he says.
"We know the Roosters are a good side and they are in-form and we are out of form.
"They’ve got international players throughout their whole pack and little Jake Friend there in the middle and he directs all their play.
"So they are going to be hard to stop, but we are confident in the side we’ve got to go down there and give them a good challenge.
"We know if we work hard and execute the game plan Wayne has given us, then we might be a chance."
The team trained on Friday morning before traveling to Sydney. rThe final make-up of the team will be announced one hour prior to kick-off on Saturday.
