While many Knights fans are yet to be convinced, coach Adam O'Brien has enormous faith in the qualities that Kurt Mann will bring to the contentious five-eighth position this season.
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O'Brien has stopped short of publicly guaranteeing Mann the number six jumper for the Knights' premiership opener against the Warriors on March 14 but there is little doubt he will be Mitchell Pearce's halves partner when the season kicks off provided he remains injury-free.
While Mann has trained in the position for the entire pre-season without missing a session, his main five-eighth contenders, Phoenix Crossland and Mason Lino, have both battled fitness concerns.
Crossland hasn't trained for six weeks because of a groin issue and is racing the clock to start the season while Lino has only just joined the fulltime squad after an off-season shoulder reconstruction.
Utility Connor Watson will almost certainly come off the bench under O'Brien and be primarily used, depending on injuries, in the forward rotation at either hooker or lock.
Mann's form in 2019 was patchy and he failed to fire on a couple of occasions when he played outside Pearce, prompting fans to lament the fact the club did not chase a specialist five-eighth for this season.
But there were excuses with Mann battling a sternum injury for most of the season along with the news his mother was facing a cancer battle.
O'Brien seems certain to give Mann a decent shot at cementing the halves spot and has told him not to take the field this season trying to be the best at everything.
"I've simplfied his role there at five-eighth," O'Brien said."We don't need him to be a number of things, we just want him to be a solid contributor and that's what he's been all pre-season.
"We need him to kick well and have a solid passing game but the most important thing is he needs to be strong defensively and he understands the way we want to defend and he's a really tough kid too.
"He doesn't mind getting into the contact. He had some injuries at the back end of last year that may have exaggerated some defensive issues but I actually like him in that regard. I've been really clear about what I need from him and what the team needs from him."
O'Brien said spelling out each individual's role within the team, something Storm coach Craig Bellamy has been a master at, is vital to overall success.
"If you are too vague about what you want from them, they go in wanting to be the best at everything," he said. "It's better to simplify their roles to start with and you can always add some stuff later as the season goes on and that's what I've done with Kurt.
"But that's the same for everyone. It's about making sure everyone clearly understands what their role is and what's expected of them."