Ready 'Eddie' go: Lee prepares for emotional return

In any other week, David Klemmer's return after a month on the sidelines would be the biggest news coming out of Newcastle, but you get the feeling the Test and Origin front-rower will happily share the limelight with a fellow Knight who has endured 513 hard days since his last game at the elite level.

After playing finals footy and making his Origin debut for Queensland in 2020, Edrick Lee has endured a series of debilitating foot injuries which cost him the entire 2021 season and the opening five games of 2022, but come Sunday at WIN Stadium, fast 'Eddie' is back and his team-mates couldn't be happier for him.

Among those sharing the occasion with the 29-year-old winger will be Klemmer, who has overcome a knee injury suffered in a rousing round one victory over the Roosters in which he ran for 125 metres.

The Knights followed up that success with a victory over Wests Tigers but have found the going tough since then and are hoping the return of one big man and one big personality can turn their fortunes around.

"Eddie hasn’t played footy for about a year so I’m really excited for him to get back," said utility Kurt Mann.

"Even when he wasn’t playing the energy he brings to the place is massive - he always comes in with a big smile on his face. I think the boys are more excited to watch him play than he is.

"He's a pretty cool cat and he's always calm, he doesn't give much away. He's played plenty of footy and some high level footy as well so he’ll be ready to go.

"He’s a massive inclusion for the group and big Klem is back as well. Klem looks after himself really well and he would have ticked every box to be ready for Sunday."

Having mustered just 26 points in their past 240 minutes of football the Knights will be hoping Klemmer's powerhouse charges can help lay a platform for an improved attacking performance.

Five-eighth Jake Clifford has found the going tough behind a beaten pack in recent weeks and is still looking for a his first try assist of 2022, so the return of 177-game veteran Klemmer can't come soon enough.

"Klem brings so much experience and his go-forward was a big reason we won our first game against the Roosters," Clifford said.

"Coming off the back of him running and getting us to play some footy, it's great to have him back. When you go Klem into 'Saf' [Daniel Saifiti], two big boys running, it definitely does make my job easier when they are rolling forward.

"We lacked a bit of detail finishing off some plays last weekend and we'll look to address that. We'll have a mentality of kicking them into corners and getting field position.

"We'd like to KP [Kalyn Ponga] more involved but we can't just throw him the ball and expect him to do something. We need to earn the right and play off back of that and get him in situations where he can capitalise. We've got look up, count numbers and get all the details right.

"I'm so happy to see 'Eddie' back playing footy. He would have had to face some demons being stuck in rehab and having to watch the boys play so to see him back and to pull on this jersey I can't wait to play alongside him."

The Dragons enter the round six encounter on the back of four straight losses but Mann expects his former club to come out all guns blazing in front of their home crowd.

"They are a proud club and plenty of people have been making a lot of noise about them and their performances the last few weeks so they’ll be out to change a few opinions this week," said Mann, who wore the Red V on 60 occasions between 2016-18.