Newcastle has lost three consecutive matches in the NSW Cup, but the side will be boosted by the return of two key players for their vital Round 11 clash against the Wests Tigers at Campbelltown Stadium on Saturday.
Fullback Nathan Ross (quad strain) and Travis Waddell (NRL squad) have both been named to take on the Tigers.
Coach Rick Stone couldn't be happier to have the Ross and Waddell back in the team, especially after a few inconsistent weeks of football.
"It's great to get a few players back," Stone says.
"That will help, because we’ve got a pretty tough game away at Campbelltown.
"We are on a run of three losses in a row now, so we need to regroup.
"Our effort in the last few weeks has been okay, but we need to be just that little bit better in execution and concentration as well."
Stone says his team must particularly improve their error rate this weekend after a disappointing display against North Sydney.
Helping the Knights' cause will be the inclusion of Waddell, a player who makes plenty of tackles in the middle of the field.
"I think we made eight errors to North Sydney's 10, so it was a pretty scrappy first half," he recalls.
"We led at halftime, but the second half we didn’t start well.
"Norths had a lot of the possession and we were forced to defend and I think we ran out of energy at the backend.
"But we still got back to 12-all, so it was a brave effort given we are down on troops.
"We haven’t got any back-rowers at the moment and we are struggling for size a little bit on the edges, but hopefully we can turn that around against the Tigers on Saturday."
Newcastle will take on the Tigers at Campbelltown Stadium from 1.10pm.
