Mitchell Pearce is making no bold predictions about what his team can achieve this season but is promising one thing - the Knights won't be leaving anything in the tank when they kick off their 2020 campaign on Saturday against the Warriors.
The Newcastle skipper has been at pains throughout the pre-season not to talk up the Knights chances under rookie coach Adam O'Brien because of the embarrassing way the club imploded at the back end of last season when a finals appearance was there for the taking.
With the season opener at McDonald Jones Stadium only a few days away, he is not about to change tack now. But he does expect the side to "hit the ground running" despite the change of coach and some different philosophies in both attack and defence.
"We are coming in to hit the ground running," Pearce said.
"It's a long season and you obviously develop over the year but there's some fundamentals you want to get right to start the year. In the early rounds, high completions, building pressure and defence are the big ones.
"I'm sure the coach will be narrowing down our focus as to what matters but we want to be coming out of the blocks as hard as we can. It's what we train for, round one, and we are jumping out of our skin and can't wait to get out there."
As expected, there were no selection surprises when coach O'Brien released his team yesterday for the Warriors clash. He has stuck with the same run-on side who took the field in the club's final trial against the Sydney Roosters at Gosford 11 days ago.
Mitch Barnett will start in the backrow on the right edge in the absence of the injured Sione Mata'utia.
O'Brien has resisted the temptation to use explosive ball-running forward and pre-season Gold Coast Titans target Herman Ese'ese as an impact player off the bench by naming him at lock.
He has been preferred in the starting side ahead of Tim Glasby, who was named on the bench.
The Knights will field one of the youngest centre pairings in the competition in 21-year-olds Gehamat Shibasaki and Enari Tuala with the more experienced Tautau Moga to return from a hamstring strain in NSW Cup. Moga missed both pre-season trials against St George Illawarra and the Roosters.
The Warriors have been boosted by the news fullback and captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is likely to play despite a foot injury. But backrower Josh Curran (calf) and prop Agnatius Paasi (ankle) are both unavailable and were left out of the 21-man squad due to injuries.
Warriors coach Stephen Kearney has preferred youngster Chanel Harris-Tavita ahead of Kodi Nikorima in the halves alongside Blake Green with Nikorima to start from the bench.
The hooking duel between Jayden Brailey (Knights) and the Warriors' Wayde Egan will be intriguing with both players set to debut for their new clubs in round one.
Brailey has slotted in at dummy half seamlessly for the Knights and been highly impressive in both trials with his enthusiasm and direction. Pearce believes he could potentially turn out to be the buy of the season.
Meanwhile, the Knights skipper admitted he is unsure if the side's mental frailties, that were so blatantly exposed last season when the side was put under any sort of pressure, will continue to haunt the team.
"Time will tell," he said.
"Obviously, we have trained as hard as we can and I'm so impressed with the coaches and the systems that have been implemented. It's now up to us as players to take that onto the field and deliver for each other and the town."
Asked about what his team is capable of and how far they can go this season, he refused to speculate.
"It's way too early to say," he said. "I've been saying the same thing every time I've been asked during the pre-season - it's one week at a time, one day at a time. That's the only formula to get your consistency."
Pearce was far more forth-coming about one of the NRL's new initiatives this season, the captain's challenge, believing it would be a real positive for the game.
"It's going to be interesting - I think it's a great concept," he said. "There is a golden egg there that can really be magic moments if you use it the right way. There will also be times where myself and the other captains may wish they picked another opportunity but that's what footy's about. It's an opportunists' game and I'm looking forward to hopefully nailing those moments."
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