Knights coach Adam O'Brien set to resist the wholesale resting of players for final round Broncos clash

The Knights wrapped up seventh spot in the finals following last Thursday night's 15-14 victory over the Gold Coast Titans and their position in the top eight won't change whether they win or lose to the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.

But they won't know who they will meet in the first week of the play-offs until after the final round. It follows Parramatta's surprise win over Melbourne on Saturday night and Manly's win over the Bulldogs yesterday.

Those two results and the Sydney Roosters' loss to South Sydney has left three teams - Sea Eagles, Eels and Roosters - all on 32 points in the battle for fourth spot.

If positions were to remain as they are, the Knights would face the injury-ravaged Roosters, who currently sit in sixth spot on points difference in a fortnight. But that could change depending on final round results.

O'Brien told the Newcastle Herald he won't be making wholesale changes and resting a host of players despite the Broncos game having no bearing on the side's premiership position.

READ MORE: TOOHEY'S NEWS - Hands-off warning for Mitchell Pearce

He indicated Saifiti and Barnett are likely to be the only two players to be handed a leave pass to rest up and re-charge the batteries ahead of the finals.

"I actually spoke to those two guys after the game on Thursday night just to let them know I was thinking about putting them back in the shop and polishing them up a little bit," O'Brien said.

"They have played a lot of footy and we have the players to cover for them. Klem [David Klemmer] will come back in after suspension for Jacob and Brodie Jones, who I thought was really good for us against the Titans, can slot in on Barney's edge."

Barnett is one of only three Knights players [Connor Watson and Enari Tuala are the other two] to have played in all 23 matches for the club this season. Saifiti has featured in 22 games including the last 17 straight after missing Newcastle's round five loss to the Titans.

Asked about the likes of Pearce and Ponga potentially being given the game off, O'Brien suggested the benefits of them playing out-weighed the negatives.

"I think the spine needs to keep going to be honest," he said. "We've got a longer turnaround to spend some more time on our attack at training and they will only benefit from that extra time together.

"When you look at it, Junior [Pearce] has only played 10 games and KP [Ponga] 13 all season and Brails [Jayden Brailey] had a week off and missed the Bulldogs game a couple of weeks ago to re-charge after getting concussed. Yes, there is always the risk of injury but you run that risk every time you train as well. I don't think you can look at it with that sort of mentality."

O'Brien said the other important factor about the game was maintaining the team's momentum a week out from the finals.

"We have won five straight - it would be nice to go into the finals with six straight wins which is what we'll be aiming for," he said.

"I want us to go down there and compete. We can't afford to go down there and not get the mindset right because you want to take confidence into finals.

"So I want us to hang onto that resolve and that competitive mindset. But I also want to see us putting into practice the stuff we have been working on. I think that's really important. It's a game where we can confidently look to implement the stuff that we are working on mid-week on the training paddock."

The Titans win also guarantees Daniel Saifiti will get an extra week to overcome a knee injury that has sidelined him for a fortnight.

The club may have rolled the dice and gambled on the fitness of Saifiti if the Broncos was must-win. With a further week to recover, there is optimism in the Knights camp he will be back for the finals clash.

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