![Kurt Mann. Picture by Jonathan Carrol Kurt Mann. Picture by Jonathan Carrol](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/AFKkRPHwQbXhqFfb42nFTx/0d151c3e-96d3-416b-bd61-6210f53c0008.jpg/r0_333_3653_2395_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
AFTER a frustrating past couple of seasons, Kurt Mann looks set to play a key role for the Newcastle Knights in coming weeks while co-captain Jayden Brailey recovers from a knee injury he suffered in Sunday's 34-24 win against the Warriors at McDonald Jones Stadium.
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Brailey was to undergo scans, but the early indications were that he had torn his meniscus in his right knee, which required a full reconstruction in 2020.
A torn meniscus would be likely to sideline Brailey for between four and six weeks, leaving Newcastle without a specialist dummy-half, after the off-season departure of Chris Randall to Gold Coast Titans.
Knights coach Adam O'Brien said utilities Mann and Phoenix Crossland were likely to share the hooking duties in Brailey's absence.
"It'll take two of them to cover for Brails in the middle," O'Brien said.
Mann, a veteran of 163 NRL games for Melbourne, St George Illawarra and Newcastle, has been restricted to 14 appearances since the start of last season after suffering ankle, quadriceps and shoulder injuries, as well as a concussion.
But he returned from a two-game lay-off in style against the Warriors, scoring a vital try and making 22 tackles in 28 minutes.
A utility player who has lined up as fullback, winger, centre, five-eighth, halfback, lock and hooker for the Knights, Mann had no qualms about deputising as dummy-half.
"I've played there a bit before," he told the Newcastle Herald.
"Back in 2020, we lost a couple of hookers to injuries and I ended up playing there for the whole second half of the season.
"So it's not something that's unfamiliar to me."
I've played there a bit before ... it's not something that's unfamiliar to me.
- KURT MANN
Mann signed with the Knights at the end of 2018 when then coach Nathan Brown offered him a chance to play hooker on a weekly basis, only to be used in a variety of other roles.
"My versatility can be a bit of a curse," he said.
"I don't think I've played the same position two years in a row.
"I've mainly trained and played as lock the last couple of years, but then something will happen and I'll have to fill in somewhere else."
The off-contract 30-year-old described his run of injuries as "a bit of a rough patch" but said he's had no thoughts about finding a new career path.
"I love playing footy," he said. "It's all I've wanted to do since I was a little kid.
"I've still got the fire inside me, so I'm definitely not ready to give it away ... I'm getting towards the back end, but definitely not looking to give it away just yet."
A disconsolate Brailey, meanwhile, was ruing another body blow after his 2020 knee reconstruction and a ruptured Achilles tendon last year.
"Fingers crossed it's not too bad," he said. "It's just disappointing. Everyone knows my history and I just want to make up for lost time, in a sense.
"It's frustrating but I try to look at the glass as half-full."
Brailey had no doubt Mann could fill the void.
"He's more than capable in the middle," Brailey said.
"Pound for pound, he's one of the strongest blokes I've played with.
"His versatility is one of his greatest assets and I'm sure he'll do a great job for us."
The return of Tyson Gamble from concussion means Crossland is likely to shuffle from five-eighth to tag-team with Mann as hooker.
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