IT was a gamble that ultimately paid off for Cessnock coach Todd Edwards with Guy Thompson returning from injury to replace Tom Baker in the forward pack for the 2020 Newcastle Rugby League grand final.
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Thompson (ankle) will likely start in the front-row against Souths at Maitland Sportsground on Sunday as fellow Goannas prop Baker (knee) was eventually ruled out after training on Thursday night.
Edwards rested Thompson from last weekend's semi-final victory over Western Suburbs in a bid to have him fit for the decider.
The mentor then lost Baker in the opening 10 minutes of the same elimination encounter and now won't have his services for the title showdown, with the extent of the damage still unknown.
"We took a bit of a gamble with Guy not playing him because if he did play he wouldn't have been right for this weekend," Edwards said.
"It has paid off a bit with Tom now out."
Goannas halfback Liam Foran (hamstring) is set to make a call about playing after their captain's run at Cessnock on Saturday morning.
"He hasn't put it under pressure yet," Edwards said.
CESSNOCK: Ngangarra Barker, Seaton Reid, Brayden Musgrove, Josh Griffiths, Josh Charles, Nick Newman, Liam Foran, Guy Thompson, Nick Lawrence, Tom Baker, Reed Hugo, Harvey Neville, Connor Kirkwood, Harrison Spruce, Joe Barber, Robert Tuliatu, Joe Bromage, Hamish Wolfgang.
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