COACH Adam O'Brien says he "didn't want to die wondering" after backing his new-look halves pairing of Phoenix Crossland and Tyson Gamble to steer the Knights into the finals.
Crossland and Gamble became Newcastle's fifth scrumbase combination of the season in Sunday's 22-14 loss at Penrith, which left the Knights 12th on the ladder, two wins adrift of the top eight, with five rounds to play.
Asked about his decision to switch Crossland from hooker to halfback, at the expense of experienced Jackson Hastings, O'Brien replied: "I just thought we're going to have to compete hard at the back end of the season.
"That's not to say the guys I left out don't compete hard, but I know that's a real forte of Tyson and Phoenix.
"I know that everyone has been critical of the changes, but I look at it more as a sign of I'll do anything to win. I'll try anything ... I don't want to die wondering.
"While it's still in our control, we'll do anything to win a game of footy to help get us in the finals."
The Knights are paying $13 to reach the eight but have arguably the easiest run in of any team in the NRL, playing Wests Tigers (home), South Sydney (away), Cronulla (away), Gold Coast (home) and the Dolphins (home) to finish off the regular season.
They may well need to win all five of those games, but O'Brien's troops have shown in the past they can cope with the pressure of a tightrope walk into the finals, winning nine consecutive games last season to qualify, and five on the bounce to make the cut in 2021.
"You'd most probably like to make it a little bit easier," he said. "But in the past, when their backs are against the wall, these boys fight."
Knights skipper Kalyn Ponga said his team can "definitely" reach the finals if they continue to play with the same effort and energy they showed against Penrith.
"Adam spoke about the discipline," Ponga said. "That's something we need to get better. But the way we trained, our mentality going into the game, the processes that we had, if we clean that [discipline] up, we should come over the top."
O'Brien gave Crossland and Gamble the thumbs-up after their performance opposite champion Penrith playmakers Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai.
"I thought we looked fairly energetic with the ball," he said. "We created a fair bit.
"There's areas of their game that they'll naturally get better on, but ... we looked like a side who were here competing."
Meanwhile, NSW Origin forward Jacob Saifiti appears set for an extended stint on the sidelines after tearing a calf muscle during the warm-up on Sunday.
The 28-year-old was helped from the field by Newcastle's trainers and needed crutches to transport himself from the dressing room to the team bus post-game.
"It doesn't look good ... he's on crutches in there now, so that's not a good sign with a calf," O'Brien said after the match.
The loss of Saifiti, who joins Bradman Best (hamstring) and Enari Tuala (calf) on the unavailable list, places further strain on Newcastle's resources.
"He's a bloody good forward," O'Brien said. "Plays big minutes for us, so we were up against it there."
Rookie Thomas Cant, who had played half a game in NSW Cup, was promoted at last notice from 18th man to replace Saifiti on the bench.
