Newly named Newcastle Knights joint-captain Trent Hodkinson says the side’s senior players plan to rally around this weekend’s debutants to ensure they are well supported and prepared for Sunday’s Round 1 clash against the Gold Coast Titans.
“All of them have had great pre-season, trained really well and prepared well for their debut,” Hodkinson said.
“I know they are buzzing and no doubt they have a few nerves, but us older blokes have got to get around them, keep them positive and keep their mind off the game leading into it.
The halfback reflected on his own debut in 2010 and said while it was an huge occasion, he felt overwhelming excitement at the time.
“You don’t want to over think it, so we’ll be helping them out there,” he said.
“I think what we’ve done in the off season and the changes we’ve made, we’ll take a lot of confidence out of the pre-season we’ve had."
With just three days until kick off, Hodkinson said the team is right on track to make a strong statement on Sunday.
“I know we’ve done our best on the training paddock to prepare as well as we can so, there could be a little bit of nerves but I’m feeling good at the moment and looking forward to debuting for a new Club,” he said.
“Coming off that trial was pretty disappointing. We knew we had to fix things up since then. On the training field we are still working on things.
“We know it may take time, but out there on the training paddock we are working well together and combinations are coming along.
"It’s really positive so we’ll wait to see where we are after Round 1 and will see what we have to work on after that.”
