It's been 69 days in the making but the Newcastle Knights are finally set to re-launch their season.
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And coach Adam O'Brien is confident his squad has ticked every box and is as well-prepared as they can be to build on their unbeaten start to 2020 when they clash with Penrith at Campbelltown Stadium tomorrow.
After watching Parramatta demolish Brisbane on Friday night and the impact the new six-again rule and one referee had on the game, O'Brien is a fan and believes his side has the personnel to take advantage of a quicker ruck and less stoppages against the Panthers when their premiership campaign resumes following the COVID-19 shutdown.
"It was a good game, it was enjoyable and I'm with pretty much everyone else at the end of it," O'Brien said.
"I think everyone thought it was a great way to start off the round. It's going to suit a fair few of our individuals. It's easy for me to think [it will suit] the way our captain [Mitchell Pearce] plays. He's on the footy, an advantage-line type player who likes to take the line on.
"The bloke who is missing this week [Kalyn Ponga] - he's going to enjoy playing in that style of footy the following week but the kid that's coming in, Tex [Hoy], is also a strong runner of the ball and so is Kurt Mann. We've certainly got players that suit that style."
O'Brien admits an up-tempo game, which will also open up opportunities around the ruck for starting hooker Connor Watson, will also test the resilience of his side in trying to shut down the momentum of the Panthers.
Despite the loss of halfback and playmaker Nathan Cleary through suspension, Penrith still boast plenty of attacking firepower with hooker Api Koroisau the type of player capable of taking advantage of the new six-again rule.
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"There is no doubt it is going to be challenging," O'Brien said. "There are going to be some uncomfortable moments there that you are going to have to keep turning up for your mate.
"But I'm really confident with what we have done pre-season. We have put ourselves in a few uncomfortable moments and come through the other side of it. The challenge is to do that on Sunday."
While the loss of Ponga is huge, O'Brien has full confidence in Hoy to deliver on his potential in his debut and is just as assured about the role fellow debutant Chris Randall can play off the bench.
"I said from day one when I got here the players would earn a Knights jersey and I feel that's exactly what Chris has done and I feel that's what Tex has done," O'Brien said.
While the coach refused to divulge if boom centre Bradman Best will play after not being named in the starting 17, he said he won't be starting Randall and keeping Watson in his usual utility role coming off the bench.
"It's definitely a temptation but again, I'm pretty good at just keeping the main thing the main thing and for me, that is that we start well," he said.
"I think starting with a guy that has started in that position in the NRL before is the right thing to do.
"To put Chris straight in, the speed of the game could impact him a little bit so we can worry what happens later in the game then. Chris is not slow out of dummy half so I think it suits both our guys whichever one starts and whichever one doesn't."
While the main focus has been on themselves, O'Brien says they have done their homework on the Panthers without cluttering the players' minds with too much information.
"Part of the process is making sure the guys are really prepared for what's coming on Sunday," he said.
"But I think it's also important on the back of last night and the team that we're playing to leave enough space in the players' minds to be able to defend the stuff they haven't seen.
"This is a team that can jump off script pretty quickly and hurt you so we have done a pretty solid preparation but there is enough space there that we'll handle anything that's coming towards us."
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