Skipper Kurt Gidley is looking forward to playing at fullback in Saturday's trial match against the Canberra Raiders, and hopes to cement the position for the season proper.
“I've probably played most of my best footy at fullback, so it's enjoyable to know I'll be playing there tomorrow night,” Gidley told the media at Seiffert Oval in Queanbeyan on Friday morning.
“Hopefully I'll be able to play the full season there at fullback, but things might change during the year, and I'll probably play a little bit in the halves tomorrow night as well.”
Much of the talk leading into the trial match has focused on youngster Sione Mata'utia playing in the centres.
“Sione's had plenty of big tests before this with the games he played last year in centre and wing, and obviously the Four Nations at the end of last year was a huge test for him,” Gidley explained.
“Between him, Dane (Gagai) and Joey (Leilua), they'll all get some time at centre, and it's just great to have some depth.
“It's two weeks out from the start of the season and it's time to start getting serious and putting things into place we've been practicing over the last couple of months.”
With the bulk of the experienced heads in the squad starting the match, the bench is occupied by a number of promising young players that Gidley has been impressed with in the pre-season.
“We've had a number of younger kids who have trained with us during the off-season, the likes of Jake Mamo and Joe Tapine,” he said.
“They've all trained really hard, but obviously they want to perform on the field as well.”
The trial match against the Canberra Raiders shapes as the last chance for players both young and old to stake their claim for a starting role in Round one, when the Knights host the Warriors at Hunter Stadium.
