So much so, the Knights utility says he'll be eating as many as five or six decent meals a day and spending more time in the gym in a bid to bulk up ahead of a planned strategic switch into the forward pack.

Knights coach Adam O'Brien has told Mann he will get first crack at turning himself into a ball-playing lock as part of a revamped attack in 2022. But first, the Knights' Mr Fix-it has to put on some bulk and add around four kilos to his 88kg frame.

"The move to lock is definitely a possibility at the moment and it's something I'm excited about," Mann told the Newcastle Herald.

"With injuries, I suppose I could end up anywhere. That's probably the big thing with me - if people go down, I'm usually the one called on to fill the role in a different position.

"But lock is the most likely spot for me at the moment and I'm going to need to put on three or four kilos to get me up to around 91 or 92. So I've got a little bit of work to do."

To achieve that, there will be a greater focus on the gym and a sensible approach to simply eating more. So hamburgers and pies won't be part of the new regime?

"No hamburgers or pies - there's a few healthier options than that," he laughed. "I'm just trying to eat more frequently, that's the big thing for me so it's five or six meals a day.

"I've sort of always been one of those guys with a high metabolism that can eat what ever I want and it doesn't really go anywhere. So it's going to be about eating more and eating more often but definitely not over-eating.

"I'm confident by Christmas, I'll be getting up there pretty close to the mark."

Mann's excitement in potentially playing lock, a position he experienced when he was at the Dragons, is tempered a little by the realisation that his versatility could see him playing just about anywhere.

Connor Watson's defection to the Roosters only heightens that possibility.

"I'd prefer to just have one position and just stick at it," he said. "I'll do what's best for the team but if I can nail down one spot and get a whole pre-season there, that's when I usually play some decent footy.

"I played a bit of 13 at the Dragons and enjoyed it. The way we are going to play, if I do settled into that spot, I think it will really suit me. It will be similar to how some of the other teams use their lock as a first receiver but we'll have our own little flavour on it."

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