Knights captain Mitchell Pearce says he has plenty of faith in teammate Kurt Mann to deliver at five-eighth this season and believes any criticism of his selection in the halves for the NRL premiership opener against the Warriors is unfair.
Coach Adam O'Brien won't finalise his squad for round one until early next week but has already indicated Mann will play in the No.6 jersey alongside his captain despite a late challenge from youngster Tex Hoy and the more experienced Mason Lino.
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Five-eighth has been the position that has caused the most debate among Knights fans for the past 12 months with many believing the club should have made signing a specialist a priority in the off-season after no less than six players filled the role at stages in 2019 with varying degrees of success.
O'Brien has backed Mann to get the job done, saying he just wants his five-eighth to be a "solid contributor" without trying to be something he's not. And after working closely alongside him for more than four months during the pre-season, Pearce is confident he will prove any doubters wrong.
"He's had a great pre-season and come a long way and I'm really comfortable with Kurt there if that's the way it pans out," Pearce said.
"He's tough, he loves the defensive stuff and he can make an impact with the footy because he is really wiry and hard to tackle. I've got plenty of faith that he'll make the most of any opportunity."
While he is aware of what O'Brien has said publicly, Mann says he is yet to be told officially by the coach he will wear the No.6 jersey against the Warriors. He admits he will be under plenty of pressure to hang onto the spot if he does get the nod.
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"If I'm given that opportunity, it's something I'd like to grab with both hands," he said. "It's where I play my best footy.
"But there is pressure coming from everyone. I think a lot of boys are capable of filling that role in our squad. Everyone has seen the form of young Texy, he's been playing pretty well during the trial period, Connor [Watson] is equally capable as well playing that role and Mason as well."
Mann revealed O'Brien spoke to him prior to the start of pre-season training to tell him to focus on the five-eighth role and concentrate on just three things.
"One was my kicking, my defence and just to make sure I'm hitting the money with my passes and he said that should be enough."
Mann's passing game appears to be where he needs to find improvement.
"I was a bit hot and cold but that trials I think," he said. "Everyone goes into trials with a bit of rust there because you haven't played for so long. Everyone's trying to impress and we tried a few new things early on. Trying to play some consistent footy - that's going to be the main aim for me."
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