Having spent the past four weeks travelling by bus to Campbelltown and Gosford on game day, the Knights will make the 3890-kilometre round trip to the tropical north on direct chartered flights, as per the NRL's biosecurity protocols.

The Knights are expected to depart Newcastle at 9.30am, having first assembled at their Wests Mayfield headquarters, and spend three hours in the air.

They will then bus it the remaining 6.5km from Townsville Airport to the new stadium in the city centre for the 3pm kick-off.

All going well, their return flight should touch down in Newcastle around 10pm.

"I'm not quite sure on the specifics yet," back-rower Sione Mata'utia said.

"I know we're having breaky here, so I assume it's between six o'clock and seven o'clock [start] ... it's all new to us, like every other team.

"They've all done it, so it's going to be interesting and we're going to have to do our best to try and prepare as best as we can, not only physically but mentally as well."

Since the season resumed after the coronavirus interruption, the Knights have racked up two wins and a draw to sit second on the ladder.

New coach Adam O'Brien said from the outset that his team's travel schedule would not be used as an excuse and that they would "handle it".

Mata'utia said the Knights were all feeling "pretty fresh, physically", having been given a four-day weekend after their 27-6 win against the Broncos last Thursday.

"It's going to be pretty tough mentally but it is what it is," he said.

"We can't do much about it. We've just got to get up there and play. Everyone is doing the same thing and we just have to find a way to be prepared."

Knights winger Hymel Hunt was looking forward to the long-distance challenge.

"The whole pre-season we worked on being resilient," he said.

"Obviously this year has been a weird time for everyone around the world, but we just have to adjust to it and do our best."

Meanwhile, Mata'utia said he would welcome the imminent return of back-row colleague Mitch Barnett from neck surgery.

Barnett has not played since he was injured in round two, but will visit his surgeon again next week in the hope of receiving a clearance.

"It makes Adsy's job a bit harder, selecting the team, but it's also a good thing that we get a quality player back," Mata'utia said.