Knights lock Adam Elliott expects to face a steely Melbourne outfit in Fiji on Saturday after the Storm's loss to Canterbury last week.
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Melbourne were pipped 24-12 at Belmore on Thursday after initially leading the Bulldogs 12-10 at half-time.
The Storm fielded a reserve-grade strength side for the trial but that did not stop coach Craig Bellamy delivering a trademark spray at the break despite their lead.
"They've been on the end of those a couple of times," Elliott joked on Wednesday.
"They always come out the next week, don't they?
"They're a team that have rarely lost back-to-back games, the Storm, for a decade now. Whether it's a trial game or not, I know that they're going to want to get a win leading into the season."
Bellamy has made bulk changes to his side, naming 14 players who did not feature in the loss among a 28-man squad to take on the Knights.
Newcastle will have eight fresh players, including Elliott, Kalyn Ponga and the likes of Tyson Frizell, Bradman Best and Dane Gagai.
Ponga missed training on Tuesday with a reported stomach bug, but he is expected to play in the trial.
Injured hooker Jayden Brailey won't make the trip.
There were some promising signs for the Storm last week, most notably Ryan Papenhuyzen's return.
The fullback will be joined this week by fellow stars Jahrome Hughes, Harry Grant and Christian Welch.
"The first trial is always a hard one to get a gauge on because coaches rest a few players, there's a few new blokes that get a crack," Elliott, who played in the All Stars match last week, said.
"I certainly liked what I saw in their first 20 or 30 minutes when they had their best team on the field.
"I watched that game up in camp and ... it was a bit of an arm wrestle," Elliott added of Melbourne's first trial.
"They got a fair bit of good practice out of it, not dissimilar to our first 20 or 30 minutes against the Sharks.
"Going off that, I think both teams ... will certainly be sharp going into this game."
The Knights trained following bucketing rain at Broadmeadow early Tuesday which should serve as solid preparation given thunderstorms are predicted at Churchill Park in Lautoka.
After a high error count in their 44-18 win over Cronulla, Elliott said the conditions had been welcomed by Newcastle's coaching staff.
"Blake Green, our attack coach, said that he asked for that to happen. [He] put the rain on for us," Elliott said.
"A little bit of wet weather .... obviously playing the ball, particularly in these early rounds and trials, you don't want to be coughing up errors.
"It was good practice for us ... getting ready for that humid football. We'll get over there and have another really big session on Thursday."
Speaking at a press conference to promote Classic's five-year extension as Newcastle's apparel partner, Elliott said that he had pulled up well from the All Stars fixture and was eager to get some game time with his club teammates ahead of next month's season-opener.
The Indigenous representative didn't play in last year's trials, and then got injured in round one and missed the following eight NRL games.
But, after full-pre-season, he is primed to hit the ground running in 2024.
"We've had a really hard pre-season," he said.
"For me personally, it's the first time in three years that I haven't missed a session.
"I'm feeling really good, really confident and just excited in my body, knowing that this time last year I was fighting an injury to fight my way back into the team and get on the field.
"This year, I'm putting my best foot forward.
"So I was really excited to get out there on the weekend. It was a good hit out for me.
"Very proud to represent my culture, represent my family and the week was incredible.
"I took a lot out of it. I feel 10-foot tall coming back to my club now and looking forward to this season.
Knights (vs Storm)
1 Kalyn Ponga
2 Enari Tuala
3 Dane Gagai
4 Bradman Best
5 Greg Marzhew
6 Tyson Gamble
7 Jackson Hastings
8 Jacob Saifiti
9 Phoenix Crossland
10 Leo Thompson
11 Tyson Frizell
12 Dylan Lucas
13 Adam Elliott
14 Jack Cogger
15 Daniel Saifiti
16 Jack Hetherington
17 Kai Pearce-Paul
18 Thomas Cant
19 Riley Jones
20 David Armstrong
21 William Pryce
22 Jed Cartwright
23 Brodie Jones
24 Thomas Jenkins
25 Fletcher Sharpe
26 Laitia Moceidreke
27 Fletcher Myers