And in an ominous warning for Penrith as the countdown begins to Sunday's much-anticipated showdown at Campbelltown Stadium, the Knights' State of Origin prop says he has never seen Jacob with a better mindset going into a game.

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"He's absolutely trained the house down and I'm really looking forward to witnessing what he brings on Sunday," Daniel said.

"I'm actually excited for what he is going to do this season. He was in really good form for us during the games earlier in the season and his mindset is the best I've ever seen it. Everyone is just raring to go and we can't wait to get out there."

Bench forward Saifiti is one of a handful of Knights players off contract but coach Adam O'Brien told the Newcastle Herald a month ago he was a priority signing.

"He is not someone we will be letting go," O'Brien said.

That public show of support did not go unnoticed according to Daniel.

"Having the coach come out publicly and say that he's a signing priority and that he wants him here is good to hear obviously," Daniel said.

"But his attitude is he just wants to focus on training and playing and believes things will look after themselves. So he is not worried about it which I think is a good thing. He's the type of bloke that the prospect of getting a new deal is not going to be his motivation for wanting to play well."

The Saifiti boys, along with David Klemmer and Herman Ese'ese, will have the responsibility of providing a platform up front to allow skipper Mitchell Pearce to control the game.

Saifiti says he has come back from the extended break ready to fire.

"The body's good. It took a week to get used to the contact after five weeks off but I'm feeling really good now," he said. "It actually feels like we are playing round one again. It doesn't feel like we've played at all this year."

Asked about taking on the Panthers first us, he said: "These first couple of game's are going to be a real good test of where we are at.

"Penrith won their opening two games, they are strong up front so we know we are going to be in for a real good battle with them."

While last season's humiliating final round loss to the Panthers is not something the players have forgotten, it hasn't been used as a motivating factor leading into this game.

"We've gone past all that," he said. "There's a different coaching staff, different philosophies and the playing group is different too in terms of our mindset."

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