With new arrivals, a host of young guns and others returning from injury, there is no shortage of Knights players worth keeping an eye on during Saturday's trial.
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As part of the NRL's Pre-Season Challenge, the Knights take on the Sharks from 1.45pm at Gosford in what is the first of two fixtures they'll play before their season-opener at home against Canberra on March 7.
Here's 10 players from the 28-man team to look out for:
Jack Cogger
Back at the Knights after stints with Canterbury, Huddersfield and Penrith.
Helped Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary engineer last year's grand final victory and looked a much more mature and steady player at Penrith than when he left Newcastle after 20 NRL games in 2018.
Pushing incumbent duo Jackson Hastings and Tyson Gamble to start in the halves round one, but will come off the bench in Gosford.
Tom Jenkins
A 22-year-old back signed from Penrith as a potential replacement for departed winger Dominic Young.
Stands 190cm, is athletic and gets first crack in the vacant position with fellow contenders Enari Tuala and Krystian Mapapalangi starting in the centres.
Young scored a club-record 25 tries last year, but Jenkins has a decent record himself, bagging 40 in 49 NSW Cup games and five in six NRL appearances.
Jackson Hastings
Played 40 minutes in the first trial last year and is likely to get similar time again.
Returning from off-season leg surgery but looks physically bigger and will be eager to ensure he retains the No.7 jersey come round one.
Proved a solid performer in his first season at the Knights last year but his 22-game campaign was cut short by repeat leg injuries.
Missed the semi-final and was forced to have another operation on the same leg he had repaired the year prior.
Jed Cartwright
A 194cm back-rower who debuted at Penrith back in 2019. Enjoyed a breakout 15-game campaign at South Sydney last year and is eager to back it up at his new club. Offers a point of difference to existing forwards.
Krystian Mapapalangi
Didn't even play a full game last year due to back-to-back shoulder injuries but is on the comeback trail. Made two NRL appearances late in the 2022 season and looked promising at centre. Can he recapture that form?
Will Pryce
The 21-year-old son of English great Leon Pryce, who played close to 500 top-flight games in Europe.
Will made 45 Super League appearances before moving to Newcastle ahead of this season and as a versatile back, it will be interesting to see how he is used in the trials.
David Armstrong
A 22-year-old elevated to the top-30 roster for 2024.
The Moree-born fullback was a standout in NSW Cup last year despite the side's tough campaign, scoring 15 tries in 18 games.
Recently attracted interest from Super League and is a likely replacement for Kalyn Ponga should the skipper be unavailable in 2024.
Has pace to burn and has put on size over summer.
Tom Cant
Made a shock NRL debut in round three last year after the Knights were hit by an injury crisis, but the young forward did not look out of place.
The East Maitland Griffins junior skippered the under-21s side in the 2022 Jersey Flegg Cup grand final. Coming off a second summer with the NRL squad and has noticeably bulked up.
Fletcher Sharpe
A few years behind Armstrong in age but has been named in the No.1 jersey.
The rangy fullback has excelled in the junior grades and now gets his first taste against hardened NRL players.
Once scored six tries in an under-19s SG Ball game and bagged two on debut for Cessnock in the local first-grade competition in 2022.
Paul Bryan
Up-and-coming prop who represented Queensland in the under-19s Origin in 2022. Tore his ACL last year but has trained all pre-season. A potential debutant in 2024.
