![Tyson Gamble could be a late addition for the Knights on Saturday. Picture by Marina Neil Tyson Gamble could be a late addition for the Knights on Saturday. Picture by Marina Neil](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/max.mckinney/74cc48b5-e566-4b44-a790-5a52067bb411.jpg/r0_0_5681_3762_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Knights half Tyson Gamble is poised to return against his former club Brisbane - if he can prove his fitness before Saturday's game.
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A day after naming Gamble as 18th man, Newcastle coach Adam O'Brien said on Wednesday that he hoped to have the five-eighth back on deck for the 5.30pm match at McDonald Jones Stadium.
"I'm hopeful," O'Brien said.
"We're not there yet, but like every week, if you don't name them on the Tuesday, they're no chance.
"It's probably a similar situation with the Broncos naming [Adam] Reynolds. We want to give him every chance to take part.
"If he gets there, great; if he doesn't, there's a bonus week off and he'll be right for Penrith [on August 4]."
In a clash where both teams could be impacted by how their Origin players got through Wednesday's decider, Gamble's return from a fractured foot would be a significant boost for the Knights coming off a 44-6 shellacking by Manly last week.
Newcastle's season isn't on the line but O'Brien admitted it was approaching that point should they fall further behind the top eight.
After eight wins from 17 games, the Knights are 10th on 20 competition points, two points behind the eighth-placed Cowboys.
Brisbane, meanwhile, after five consecutive losses, are in 13th position on 18 points. In a sign of their dire predicament, coach Kevin Walters named Adam Reynolds in jersey No. 24, the veteran halfback rounding out an even larger reserves list for the match which also features Brisbane's four Origin players in Payne Haas (NSW), Reece Walsh, Selwyn Cobbo and skipper Pat Carrigan (Queensland).
Reynolds hasn't played since rupturing a bicep in round nine and wasn't expected back for at least another fortnight.
If Gamble is fit, Englishman Will Pryce, who was named at five-eighth, appears likely to make way.
"I'll make that decision once I know whether he is fit," O'Brien said.
Pryce, who only made his NRL debut last month, has played the past three games but O'Brien said Gamble had been performing well prior to his injury in round 10.
"Will has done a pretty good job over the last few weeks, but there's no doubt the experience Tyson has got ... He's a creator, and when you haven't had 'KP' [Kalyn Ponga] and in particular Bradman [Best] - they can create something out of nothing - and he has that ability [with] that competitive nature of his," O'Brien said of Gamble.
"He is a big body, and ... leading up to his injury he was doing a really good job at controlling the end of our sets. He was doing a lot of kicking.
"He is a quality player, so when he is fit, he will be back in."