Newcastle Knights will debut three players against Penrith on Sunday at Campbelltown Stadium with Cessnock junior Brodie Jones to play his first top grade game off the bench.
Jones comes into the side following the withdrawal of backrower Lachlan Fitzgibbon and joins Tex Hoy and Chris Randall as the NRL first-timers in the squad.
Fitzgibbon suffered a hamstring twinge during the side's final training run in preparation for the game on Saturday and was ruled out.
At this stage, it is unclear how long he will be sidelined.
Both sides go into the game unbeaten and looking to extend their winning sequence to three matches.
