Knights playmaker Will Pryce has vowed to continue working on his game after the return of Tyson Gamble spelt the end of his run of NRL appearances.
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Pryce played three consecutive first-grade games at five-eighth before Gamble was brought back in for Saturday's 30-14 loss to the Brisbane Broncos.
Pryce suffered a broken nose ahead of the match, ironically from a head-clash with Gamble, and was subsequently rested from playing altogether last week.
"I'm telling him he did it on purpose," Pryce joked.
"But it was just a freak accident at training. We clashed heads in one of the sessions and I broke my nose.
"It's unfortunate, but these things happen in our game.
"I've got a week to prepare for the week after and make sure it's fully recovered."
Sporting stitches on his nose and two black eyes, Pryce said he expected to return after this weekend's byes, which Newcastle have in the NRL and NSW Cup.
But what grade that will be in remains to be seen.
Pryce spent the first half of the season in Cup, where he has played 13 games, but was promoted to first grade last month after the NRL side had three consecutive losses.
He was part of two wins and a loss. The 21-year-old had a dream debut, scoring the opening try against Parramatta in round 17, but had less of an impact in his subsequent appearances.
"Hopefully," Pryce said when asked if he thought he would play NRL again in 2024.
"We'll have to see what happens with the team, the fitness of the squad and what Adzy's plans are for the rest of the year.
"I'm sure me and him will have some good conversations, and if I just keep working hard, I can hopefully put myself in that shop window. I'll just keep my head down and keep working for any position."
Pryce, who played 45 Super League games for Huddersfield, said after his NRL debut that he had learnt more in his time at Newcastle than he may have in a few years in the English competition.
He added that in hindsight, he was grateful that Knights coach Adam O'Brien made him "earn the jersey".
One hesitation in playing Pryce was his defence, which he knows he can improve on.
In three NRL games, he made 76 tackles and missed 10. In attack, apart from a try, he made two line-breaks and broke five tackles.
"You're never a finished article," Pryce said.
"You need to make sure you keep working on everything.
"For me, defence is one of them.
"That's probably been a massive part of me playing NSW Cup, learning to just be tackling every week. Same as in Super League when I was playing five-eighth."
Pryce played 22 of his 45 Super League games in the halves, 17 at fullback and was deployed off the bench on seven occasions.
He is yet to be used off the bench by O'Brien, but the Bradford product believes five-eighth is where he can best fit in.
"I think so. I think that's where I can probably aid the team the most," he said.
"I'm not the finished article yet and I've got a lot of things I need to work and improve on. I'm sure if I get them right, then I'll be a great fit for the team."
