Knights coach Adam O'Brien has backed Bradman Best to rise to the occasion of opposing Broncos gun Kotoni Staggs, saying he relishes "that sort of challenge".
Best faces a tough day at the office lining up against Staggs, one of Brisbane's best players and among the NRL's strike centres this season.
Earlier this year, Best and Staggs were both identified by NSW coach Brad Fittler as potential centre options to replace the injured Latrell Mitchell and Tom Trbojevic.
But it was Staggs who went on to make his Origin debut in the series opener after a real purple patch of form.
Across 2022, Best and Staggs share fairly similar numbers of tries and line-breaks, but it is Staggs who has proved more elusive.
The right centre has made 86 tackles breaks in 19 games, including 14 against the Roosters in round five.
In a season twice interrupted by injury lay-offs, left centre Best has broken 22 tackles in 13 games.
"He likes to have that sort of challenge," O'Brien said of how Best would be feeling about facing Staggs. "He is pretty determined. There's no doubt he is coming up against a quality player."
By his own description, Best has had a "disappointing" season. He returned against Wests Tigers after missing three games due to a thumb injury, which he sustained in his first match back from a four-game absence after dislocating his shoulder in Newcastle's 36-12 loss to Brisbane in round 11.
The time out took Best's total number of missed games in the past three years to 26 - more than a full season's worth, and all before he turned 21 earlier this week.
"It sucks," Best said.
"Hopefully I've had my fair share now and I can get a clean run of footy."
O'Brien has been impressed with Best's recent preparation but said the stop-start nature of his career had hampered his growth.
"That continuity, you're not only missing it from the games but obviously a whole chunk of weeks of training that he's not getting," he said.
"He is a young guy, we're fortunate in that regard, but certainly it does halt his development."
Bet said he hadn't met his own expectations in 2022.
"I've got a lot of ground to make up," he said. "I've been here for a few seasons now and these injuries just keep setting me back. But I'm keen to show my full potential and hopefully get a full year out."
The 44-game centre set himself the goal of playing in the five remaining matches prior to last week, but his year might not finish there.
Earlier this season, Best revealed he had been approached to represent Wales at the World Cup. The Central Coast product, who is eligible for the country via his Welsh-born grandmother Elizabeth, has a desire to play in the England tournament but will consider how his body feels at season's end.
"If I'm in good nick, it would be a pretty cool experience," he said. "My nanna grew up in a town of 300 people, Blaencwm, a mining town. They moved over to Queensland for my pop, he was in the mines near Ipswich and now I'm at Newcastle with its history. It sort of all links up. It would definitely make nanna proud."
WHAT DO YOU THINK? We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Newcastle Herald website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.
