Brailey has been named to come off the bench against South Sydney at McDonald Jones Stadium but O'Brien didn't rule out starting the experienced dummy-half.

Chris Randall has retained his place in the No.9 jersey and the coach said on Thursday morning Randall would have the lion's share of game time as Brailey eases back into the NRL.

"I anticipate probably 30-odd minutes," O'Brien said of how he would likely use Brailey.

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"We'll see how the game pans out but he has done a lot of solid training."

Brailey, who ruptured an Achilles in pre-season training, hasn't played since Newcastle were knocked out of the finals last September.

The Knights will be out to claim back-to-back wins for only the second time this season on Friday after their 38-12 win over the Gold Coast last week.

"We want to springboard off that," O'Brien said.

"Having Bradman and 'Brailz' back, there is certainly a good feeling around training."

More to come.

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