It took Kalyn Ponga less than an hour yesterday to convince Knights coach Adam O'Brien he is ready to end a seven-week injury stint on the sideline.
The dynamic fullback is set to make his long-awaited return from a groin tear against North Queensland at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday night after proving his fitness during a sizzling training session at the club's Mayfield headquarters.
He only needs to get through a further two sessions unscathed to ensure he runs out against the Cowboys.
And in further good news on the injury front, backrower Tyson Frizell is eyeing off a return for the club's following match against Melbourne in round 18, a week after the bye, while centre Bradman Best could be back following ankle surgery against the Sydney Roosters in round 19.
"Our rehab group is finally starting to thin out a bit which is great news so it's going to be a matter of keeping everyone healthy and working on our combinations," O'Brien said.
The coach did not hide his excitement for Ponga's return.
"I'm very confident he'll play," O'Brien said. "He looked unbelievable this morning, really sharp.
"He got some good kilometres into his legs last week so things are definitely tracking towards him playing. He obviously still has to tick every box between now and game day but I'm confident that's going to happen.
"We've been down this path before but he's in a lot better shape now because he's got a lot more load in his legs. In hindsight, it was the right call pulling him out of the Warriors game because we got the win and we got the opportunity to get him going again."
On Frizell, O'Brien said: He's tracking really well for Melbourne and doing everything asked of him running-wise and I knew he would because he is just so professional.
"If he is not quite ready for Melbourne, I won't play him but he is looking a real chance at this stage and Bradman - Melbourne would be a stretch for him but we've probably got him penciled in for the Roosters a week later.
"So things are definitely looking up on the injury front."
Prior to giving his squad the week off after the Warriors game, O'Brien asked every player to be committed to doing some training of their own while they were away. He said no-one had let the team down in that regard.
"We were really happy with how everyone came back in on Monday and while we're all back in the bubble, we are a lot more advanced with that this time around simply because we have been through it all before so it won't be an issue for us," he said.
Knights five-eighth Jake Clifford says Ponga's return will give everyone in the squad a confidence boost.
"He ticked a lot of boxes today and looked really sharp so it's exciting to have him back," Clifford said.
