Ponga, who will start at five-eighth for the first time since round three, 2019, missed Newcastle's opening trial last week, a 28-16 loss to Cronulla at Industree Group Stadium in Gosford.

The Knights return to the same venue to take on the Eels after the 2022 grand finalists lost a tight encounter with reigning premiers Penrith 22-16 on Saturday.

In his first appearance in a Knights jersey, Hastings showed promising signs at halfback during a 40-minute stint against the Sharks playing alongside fellow new recruit Tyson Gamble.

"They just blew some cobwebs out," O'Brien said of the duo's performance.

"It was hard for Jacko because he'd spent nearly the whole summer with Kalyn beside him. We were out of sync there. Naturally, when you're making so many adjustments, the fluency isn't going to be there."

After a reasonable first 20 minutes, the Knights struggled to make an indent and conceded three unanswered tries, allowing Cronulla to establish an enviable 22-4 lead.

O'Brien lamented his side's lack of direct play but expects this will improve with Ponga and seven other first-grade regulars set to return on Friday night.

"We were really impatient in the first half and sideways with the ball," he said.

"We weren't content with just generating momentum in the middle and just sticking there. We got bored."

Ponga hasn't played since round 19 last year when a head knock prematurely ended his 2022 campaign.

He is also returning from a calf injury which kept him sidelined for about a month.

But he trained at five-eighth most of the pre-season and Hastings can't wait to finally play with the Queensland Origin star.

"His body of work speaks for itself," Hastings said.

"He just makes everything look so easy, it's all so effortless to him," Hastings said of Ponga.

"But what I've really respected about him is how hard he works. He wins all the fitness drills, tries his backside off in the gym.

"He's had a little setback with an injury, it wasn't as bad as it was reported - everyone was jumping up and down and freaking out.

"He's fine ... and I can't wait to play with him."

The Knights named a 26-man team on Tuesday to face the Eels with eight players who didn't feature last week included.

Back-line stars Bradman Best, Dane Gagai and Dominic Young start their first games of the year, while Lachlan Miller gets his first run in a Knights jersey at fullback.

Tyson Frizell returns in the back-row while new forward Adam Elliott will come off the bench, as will Leo Thompson who played in the All Stars match on Saturday.

Fellow new recruit Jack Hetherington wasn't named to play, throwing some doubt on whether he will be fit for the season-opener against the Warriors on March 3.

However, it's understood Hetherington has had a minor calf issue and the club has taken a cautious approach with the prop.

Versatile outside-back Enari Tuala is another NRL regular who will miss both of Newcastle's trial games due to a pec strain.

But it's understood he is tracking towards being available for round one as well.

Tyson Gamble was named in the No.18 jersey on an extended bench after playing five-eighth last week.

Knights 26-man trial team

1 Lachlan Miller, 2 Gregory Marzhew, 3 Dane Gagai, 4 Bradman Best, 5 Dominic Young, 6 Kalyn Ponga (c), 7 Jackson Hastings, 8 Daniel Saifiti, 9 Jayden Brailey (c), 10 Jacob Saifiti, 11 Tyson Frizell, 12 Lachlan Fitzgibbon, 13 Kurt Mann, 14 Phoenix Crossland, 15 Leo Thompson, 16 Adam Elliott, 17 Jack Johns, 18 Tyson Gamble, 19 Hymel Hunt, 20 Krystian Mapapalangi, 21 Bailey Hodgson, 22 Brodie Jones, 23 Dylan Lucas, 24 Adam Clune, 25 Thomas Cant, 26 Oryn Keeley