Newcastle will field a rookie fullback for the second time in as many weeks with coach Nathan Brown confirming Brendan Elliot will wear the No.1 jumper for their round two NRL clash against Gold Coast.
Brown on Tuesday confirmed youngster Dylan Phythian had torn his anterior cruciate in last week's season-opening loss to the Warriors in a huge blow to their campaign.
"They're pretty confident he's done his ACL which is pretty disappointing not only for Dylan but for us as a club and a team," Brown told reporters on Tuesday.
"South Sydney just lost Greg Inglis but Phythian is our Greg Inglis because he's our number one fullback and they're very important players."
Former Sydney Roosters flyer Brendan Elliot is certain to be the new custodian, despite never playing the position in his 25 NRL games to date.
Brown explained he didn't want to disrupt a settled backline, three of whom have have experience playing in the backfield.
Peter Mata'utia and Nathan Ross will remain on the left edge, while last year's fullback Dane Gagai and new recruit Ken Sio hold up the right.
Brown said he liked what he saw out of Elliot at fullback during their sole pre-season trial against Canberra last month and is eager to give him an extended shot at the role.
"It's not something you want to keep changing. Brendan's trained there, did some training in the pre-season, had a 15-20 minute stint in the Canberra trial and held himself very well," he said.
"Everyone's confident he'll do a good job. We won't see a need to change it but all the best plans come undone when injuries happen."
Brown is confident Elliot will do a job given he has spent the past 12 months at the club, compared to when he had to scratch around to replace injured players last year.
The Knights used a total 35 players when they finished with the wooden spoon in 2016.
"Brendan understands the game, he's a good catcher and has been playing first grade for the last 2-3 so he's got some experience. We're not bringing a rookie into the club," he said
"This time last year when we lost a player we had to go the local competition or go to another club to bring a player in to fill the void. Brendan's been here now for nearly 12 months and he knows what we're about and what we're trying to do."
