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Newcastle Knights head coach Rick Stone has confirmed new recruit Tariq Sims will make his first appearance in the Knights line-up on Saturday against the St George Illawarra Dragons.

Stone is eager to have the 25-year-old boost the Knights' forwards after he missed the start of the season with a carry over suspension.

“He’ll bring a good balance to our team,” Stone told the media on Tuesday morning.

“With the back row of Jeremy Smith, Beau Scott and Tariq Sims, I think we probably have one of the more aggressive and forceful back rows in the competition.

“I know he’ll bring some controlled aggression and I know he will bring a bit of punch to our attack definitely.”

It’s been a patient wait for Sims who joined the Knights from the North Queensland Cowboys at the beginning of pre-season.

“It’s exciting to be considered as a squad member... I’m going to grab it with both hands and will run with it,” Sims said.

“I have served my time on the sideline and now it’s time to look to the future and do what I love doing and that’s playing footy with my mates."

Sims, who has played 71 NRL games for the Cowboys after making his NRL debut against the Knights in 2011, believes he has plenty to contribute to his new team.

“I feel that some of my attributes could help the squad out absolutely,” he said.

“But I just have to make sure I’m doing my job for the team and when I’m called upon, I go out there and I do what I do."

Sims has remained focused despite a late start to his 2015 campaign.

“I have sort of kept a positive attitude the whole way through this,” he said.

“I saw my time on the sideline as a preparation tool to help the boys out, to get in the best shape before I join the side on the field on the weekend.

“The boys have been playing out of their skin.

“All I have to do is make sue that I don’t get too excited and drop the ball or two or something silly.”

Despite not yet making his Club debut, Sims says he connected with the Club’s culture from the very beginning.

“I think that I was pretty lucky when I first moved here in November that I was exposed to that early and I soaked that up pretty early too," Sims said.

“As team we’ve all bought into it and you can see it in our football.

"We know that we haven’t played out best football and that’s in front of us.

"That’s exciting and it’s finally great to be back out there."

Sims will look to ride the wave of four consecutive wins in the lead up to the clash against the Dragons.

“The Dragons have got a great pack and it’s a physical pack. You saw them dominate the Manly side on the weekend,” he said.

“They have some great players and Benji Marshall and Gareth Widdop are obviously tremendous players.

“Benji Marshall is really electrifying with the ball and he has a really good kicking game.

“It’s something we’re going to have to address during the week and make sure we prepare for him the best we can.

“I have trained pretty hard in the off season, but I’m not quite sure how many (minutes) (Rick) Stoney wants me to knock out, but I’m pretty ready for anything at the moment.”

Stay tuned for all the team news at 5.01pm today.