Knights backrower Lachlan Fitzgibbon is out of Friday night's crunch game against the Gold Coast through injury but is in no danger of missing out on playing in his first finals series.
Fitzgibbon is the latest in a long list of teammates to be struck down by injury this season but in some welcome good news for the club, will miss just one game and is certain to return for his side's elimination semifinal against South Sydney in the first week of the play-offs.
The former South Newcastle junior has been battling a groin-related problem which flared up during the first half of the Knights' big win over St George Illawarra on Sunday.
He was replaced at halftime and spent the entire second half of the match on the bench with his groin area wrapped in ice. But Knights coach Adam O'Brien yesterday dispelled any fears the injury could be long term, claiming only the short five-day turnaround prevented him playing this weekend.
"It's expected to settle down pretty quickly and if this Titans game had have been on Saturday or Sunday, Fitzy may have been right to play," O'Brien told the Newcastle Herald.
"As it stands, he'll get an enforced rest which at this stage of the season, is probably not such a bad thing."
The loss of Fitzgibbon is one of a number of changes to the squad for the clash with the inform Titans, with the result potentially determining whether the Knights host a finals game or not.
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The return of boom centre Bradman Best after he missed the past six weeks due to ankle surgery is among the most significant changes.
Kurt Mann also returns to the hooking role after serving a one match suspension for a crusher tackle during the loss to the Roosters while winger Edrick Lee is back after missing the Dragons game because of a family issue.
Outside backs Gehamat Shibasaki and Starford To'a miss out to accommodate Best and Lee while starting hooker Chris Randall shifts back to the bench for Mann.
Sione Mata'utia will start on the left edge for Fitzgibbon with Brodie Jones the new inclusion on the bench.
O'Brien admitted he found it difficult to leave Randall out of his run-on side following his high-quality performance against the Dragons.
"I thought long and hard about it because I thought Randy was great for us on Sunday," he said.
"Obviously, he set up that first try for Kalyn [Ponga] but I thought his service and decision-making from dummy half was top notch as well as his defence.
'There is the option of switching Kurt into the No.13 role during the game to give Randy some more game time against the Titans which is something I'll potentially look at during the game."
The Knights only had a light training session yesterday with the players sitting through a full video review of the Dragons game and previewing the Titans clash.
A win over the Titans will guarantee the club finishes sixth and host the Rabbitohs the following weekend in the finals at McDonald Jones Stadium.
A loss opens the door for the Bunnies to steal the hosting rights if they can then knock over the Sydney Roosters, with that clash in Sydney immediately following the Knights game on Friday night.
O'Brien labeled his side's up-and-down form the "elephant in the room" when talking about taking on the Titans, who are on a four-game winning streak and have won their past four games between the two sides on the Gold Coast.
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