IT has taken 17 games, but Knights coach Adam O'Brien will finally have a full-strength pack at his disposal when Newcastle clash with old rivals Manly at Brookvale Oval on Saturday.
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Hooker Jayden Brailey, who played his first game this year off the bench after returning last week from Achilles surgery, has been reinstated to the starting line-up.
And prop Jacob Saifiti, who performed heroics off the bench on his State of Origin debut for NSW on Wednesday night, will again be used as an interchange impact player.
O'Brien added further size and experience to his pack on Friday by recalling back-rower Lachlan Fitzgibbon, who has spent the past month in NSW Cup, at the expense of lock Kurt Mann. Leo Thompson will also replace Pasami Saulo on the bench.
The only first-choice player unavailable this week is centre Bradman Best, who has undergone surgery to repair a fractured thumb.
But it is the reunification of his forwards, in particular, that has O'Brien confident Newcastle can bounce back from last week's lacklustre 40-28 loss to South Sydney.
"We'd love to have had this team right from the start, all the way through," O'Brien said. "It might be a different story, about where we're sitting at the moment.
"But that's gone now and all we can do is focus on what we're doing over the next few weeks and putting our best foot forward."
The return to full strength of Newcastle's pack is timely, given that Manly have named a formidable squad that features a bench comprising Dylan Walker, Josh Schuster, Marty Taupau and Taniela Paseka. Experienced enforcer Josh Aloiai missed out on selection.
It's a real good test for us," O'Brien said. "They've got a team there who are nice and aggressive in the forwards. We need to match that.
"And the thing about Manly is that if you think you can have a rest for one tackle, they'll hurt you with the footy. We saw that when we played them up here."
Despite Jacob Saifiti's barnstorming display for NSW, O'Brien is content to use him as a back-up behind starting props Daniel Saifiti and David Klemmer.
The towering front-rower was the only player used in the Origin series who is not a regular starter at club level.
O'Brien said Jacob showed on Wednesday night that "he comes on and changes the course of the game" when used as a fresh reserve on the engine-room rotation.
"Whether he starts or comes off the bench, it isn't an indication on how we value him," O'Brien said.
"It's not a promotion-demotion type thing. It's how he best services our team.
"For him to win our best and fairest last year, predominantly coming off the bench, it highlights what we value.
"Also it's important to have different body shapes in your pack. If you've got three tall timbers out there, it's the same tackle technique for the opposition."
O'Brien added that he preferred to tag-team the Saifiti twins.
"I think it's important to that we always have a Saifiti on the field," he said. "Daniel can set the tone early, whereas Jacob can be that impact player who comes on and really changes the momentum."
