Jarrod Mullen shapes as the likely replacement for Jack Cogger in the halves on Sunday when the Knights host Melbourne at Hunter Stadium.
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Mullen has been sidelined since Anzac Day with a hamstring injury but is set to return for Newcastle after successfully completing rehabilitation and filling the void left by NSW under 20s representative Jack Cogger.
Knights coach Nathan Brown told the Newcastle Herald he didn’t expect Cogger to back up from junior State of Origin duties in Sydney on Wednesday, especially being in the early stages of his NRL career compared to other seasoned campaigners set to rebound for the round 19 fixture such as Newcastle fullback Dane Gagai and Storm stars Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk.
And with fellow rising star Brock Lamb also unavailable through multiple injuries, it leaves a hole in the Knights halves next to chief playmaker Trent Hodkinson.
Mullen has been officially cleared to play and the recovery proves timely for Brown otherwise Will Pearsall, who made his top grade debut in the Knights only win this year, could be a potential option at five-eighth.
“I’d be lying if we expect Jack Cogger, who is an 18-year-old kid and new to first grade this season with just a handful of games, to back up a few days later after a junior Origin and against a team like Melbourne,” Brown said.
“We will see how his fitness is, but we don’t want these younger guys doing too much, whereas Dane is a seasoned player and although the turnaround is short we are hopeful he would back up.
“We are also hopeful for, but not guaranteed of Jarrod Mullen coming back for us. He has completed all the physio since surgery, has ticked all the boxes so far and is a little ahead of schedule so we’ll see how he goes at training this week. Otherwise Will Pearsall has two games back under his belt in NSW Cup.”
The other consideration for Brown following the bye has been the dummy-half role with Tyler Randall now out for a month with rib cartilage damage suffered in the first-half of the Knights’ heartbreaking 29-25 golden point loss to the Raiders in Canberra last weekend.
It means Danny Levi will postpone back surgery and new local league recruit Chris Adams comes into calculation for a utility spot on the bench four years after the NSW Country representative first played NRL for Newcastle.
“That’s why we brought Chris in,” Brown said. “Danny was going to have back surgery but we have put that off after what happened to Tyler the other day. Chris got through his second reserve grade game okay and both his fitness and performance improved so he will certainly come into consideration as well.”
Brown said the main difference between a round five 18-14 loss to Melbourne and the Knights now was the line up.
“We’ve got a far different side to back then,” Brown said. “Sione is playing back-row, there was no Barnett and Rochow was in the centres. So we’ve made some important changes there.
“We also know Melbourne have been in outstanding form and are definitely a genuine premiership threat. So it will be a good test for us to perform like we did in Canberra again and improve a bit more. If we can do that we give ourselves a chance.”
As for the recent roller-coaster ride experienced in the nation’s capital – complete with four straight tries in 12 minutes, two field goals in the final minute of play and a freakish try to decide the game in extra-time – Brown said it would only benefit the Knights in the long run despite the initial disappointment of losing 10 on the trot.
“It was a different way to lose and a different way to win,” Brown said. “I think it was pretty exciting for everyone involved and the fans certainly enjoyed it. But for us it was probably our best performance of the year. The effort was great and we didn’t leave anything out there. Even though we didn’t get the result I’d prefer to start well like we did and lead by 20 then chasing someone down at the end. It’s always better to try and control and manage the game from in front, especially from a rugby league education point of view.”
In other Knights news Newcastle were beaten 33-22 by Mounties in NSW Cup at Aubrey Keech Reserve on Saturday but Akuila Uate didn’t play because of a rib injury.
