KNIGHTS rookie Phoenix Crossland is willing to do whatever it takes to help coach Adam O'Brien fill the void created by Blake Green's likely season-ending injury.
Green was helped from the field in the first half of Newcastle's 12-0 win against the Warriors on Sunday with what Newcastle's medicos feared was a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
The veteran five-eighth is expected to require reconstrucutive surgery and faces at least six months of recovery and rehabilitation, which has prompted speculation that, at 33, his career might be over.
Regardless of whether their 11th-hour signing continues playing in 2021, Newcastle need to come up with a quick-fix solution for their last five games of the regular season and the finals.
Green was replaced on Sunday by 20-year-old Crossland, appearing in only his fifth top-grade game.
The Auckland-born Erina Eagles junior played 63 consecutive minutes - the longest stint of his fledgling career - and shared the roles of five-eighth and hooker with versatile Kurt Mann.
He admitted he was "rattled" after making 38 tackles but might well have done enough to secure a promotion to the starting line-up for Saturday's clash with the Warriors in Tamworth.
Whether he plays pivot, dummy-half or again off the bench, Crossland said he just wants contribute to the team's quest to reach the finals for the first time since 2013.
"It doesn't really bother what position, I just want to keep getting picked," Crossland told the Newcastle Herald.
"I'm just happy to have a number, whether that's on the bench or wherever Adsy [O'Brien] wants me.
"But if Greeny is out, obviously that six spot opens up and also the nine, depending on what he does with Kurt."
Crossland said he mainly played fullback as a junior before converting to the halves.
In recent weeks, he has undergone a crash course in dummy-half play, receiving tips from Knights legend Danny Buderus and assistant coach Rory Kostjacyn.
"I'm really enjoying coming off the bench, playing hooker," he said.
"I've only had three games there, so it's all a bit new to me but it's fresh and exciting."
Crossland said it would be "awesome" to get a chance in the starting side, although he was realistic about how tough it would be to replace Green, a veteran of 175 NRL games for seven different clubs.
"I'm not going to say I'm as good as Blake Green just yet," Crossland said.
"He's played a lot of NRL.
"But I just know that if I get to wear that No.6, I'll keep it simple and do my job for the team - kick well, pass the ball out in front of the boys and make my tackles. That's pretty much what I do at hooker anyway, just in a different area of the field."
O'Brien said on Monday he was still undecided about how he would re-configure the team's "spine" and would discuss it with the leadership group before making a call.
As well as Crossland, Mason Lino and Tex Hoy could potentially come into the halves, while Chris Randall is an option if the coach decides he wants a specialist hooker in the team.
Knights legend Andrew Johns said on Channel Nine that O'Brien faces some "big decisions", adding that he felt it might be time to reinstate Hoy for the first time since round nine.
"I think they need a bit of spark somewhere," Johns said. '"I'd like to see Tex Hoy given an opportunity."
