Jackson Hastings has declared Newcastle must continue to find a way to win without Kalyn Ponga, putting faith in his new halves partnership with Tyson Gamble.
Hastings and Gamble will pair up for a fourth-straight match when they take on Manly in Mudgee, as Ponga continues to recover from his latest concussion.
There remains no timeline on Ponga's return, with the Knights confirming last week he would travel to Canada for further assessment after his fourth head knock in 10 months.
Hastings and Gamble were gutsy in helping the Knights hold out Wests Tigers when Ponga went down, while Newcastle beat Canberra last week after a loss to the Dolphins.
Together the pair have kept the Knights' attack intact, with Lachlan Miller emerging as a genuine threat at fullback.
"It's smooth, he's a funny character and he makes me laugh," Hastings told AAP of Gamble.
"He's got such good energy and brings all the vibes to training. He competes hard out there.
"It's good to see K (Ponga) go and get the best care he can get. We wish him the best because his health is the most important thing.
"We can't rely on Kalyn to win footy games, we need to find a way to win without him."
There is a chance Hastings and Gamble could remain together, dependent on whether Ponga returns at five-eighth or is taken out of the frontline.
"I'll worry about that when it comes to it," Gamble said.
"If I can stay in the team when he's back, or grab a spot on the bench, then I'll be happy.
"Kalyn got injured in the pre-season so Jacko and I got a lot of time together. Playing in the trials helped and we've got a good combination building.
"We're playing both sides of the ruck and that's helping our attack. Kalyn is much more of a threat than I am."
Hastings and Gamble have the crucial job of trying to nullify Tom Trbojevic on Saturday, with the fullback having made Mudgee a happy hunting ground in recent years.
He announced his return from a hamstring injury there in 2021 to kick off one of the most dominant individual seasons in history, before springing to life against Canberra at the same ground last year.
"He's one of the best players in the NRL and it's hard to take him out of the game," Gamble said.
"Jacko and I are going to have to do the best we can with our kicking. They've got a lot of strike so we're going to have to be on our game."
Manly are without five-eighth Josh Schuster with a quad injury, with coach Anthony Seibold hopeful he will return next week against Penrith.
