Why Knights coach Adam O'Brien put Tyson Frizell straight back in

With due respect to the job that young back-rowers Kai Pearce-Paul and Dylan Lucas have been doing, O'Brien had zero hesitation in reinstating senior forward Tyson Frizell in Newcastle's starting pack for Saturday's clash with Wests Tigers in Tamworth.

Frizell has missed the past five games with a torn hamstring but his name was one of the first O'Brien penned on his team sheet this week.

"With Friz, absolutely, we bring him straight back in," O'Brien told the Newcastle Herald. "He's an experienced campaigner, and he's trained really hard.

"He's been very close to playing for a number of weeks.

"He's ticked a lot of boxes in terms of kilometres in his legs, and the right thing to do is bring him straight back in the starting team."

Lucas, who has created a big impression in his 16-game NRL career, drops back to the interchange bench to accommodate the 34-year-old NSW Origin and international veteran.

"The hard bit about that is Dylan and Kai have been doing a great job, but Friz has earned the right to start," O'Brien said.

The other notable change to O'Brien's squad has been the retention of Daniel Safiti as starting front-rower, at the expense of his twin sibling Jacob, who missed last week's win against the Warriors with a foot injury.

Daniel was below his best earlier in the season but O'Brien has rewarded him after strong performances back-to-back against the Dolphins and Warriors.

"I think Daniel, his last two weeks have been excellent," O'Brien said.

"With Jacob missing last week, we can just ease him back in off the bench. I just think Daniel has built last week on what he did the week before, and he's tracking in the right direction."

Chasing a third consecutive win, O'Brien admitted he faced some tough selection calls this week, as he had a full squad at his disposal, other than skipper Kalyn Ponga, who is recovering from foot surgery.

O'Brien's abundance of options was best illustrated by the quality of Newcastle's standby players: Jack Hetherington, Jack Cogger, Mat Croker, Jed Cartwright and Krystian Mapapalangi. "Touch wood," the coach said.

The Scully Park showdown might be officially the Tigers' home game, but O'Brien believes the Knights have staked a claim in Tamworth by basing themselves there for pre-season training camps.