The Knights look all but assured of a top-eight finish after they took care of business against the Bulldogs and a number of teams in the chasing pack on 20 points were beaten.
Despite a stack of injuries and a horrible points differential, Adam O'Brien's men are in the box after reeling off four straight wins while the Titans pushed Melbourne on Thursday night before being overrun by the reigning premiers in the second half.
Of the three teams locked on 20 competition points the Titans' differential of -46 puts them just behind Cronulla (-32) and ahead of the Raiders (-85) so a win here would go a long way towards securing Justin Holbrook's men a first finals berth since 2016.
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The rundown
Team news
Knights: The Knights are 1-17 with no late changes.
Phoenix Crossland was the last man cut an hour before kick-off and Pasami Saulo is 18th man.
Jack Johns has a shoulder issue and dropped out of the extended squad on Wednesday along with Simi Sasagi.
David Klemmer entered an early guilty plea on a contrary conduct charge arising from the win over the Bulldogs and will miss one game. His place in the front row is taken by Sauaso Sue.
Tyson Frizell returns from a one-game ban in the second row so Brodie Jones reverts to the bench.
The Knights have won five from five with Jake Clifford and Mitchell Pearce in the halves.
Titans: The Titans will line up 1-17.
Kevin Proctor (shoulder) came through training on Wednesday and is good to go while Moeaki Fotuakia (knee) retrurns after missing last week's match.
Esan Marsters and Greg Marzhew were cut from the squad 24 hours before kick-off and Sam Lisone was the last player omitted an hour before kick-off. Toby Sexton is 18th man.
The Titans have won five of their past seven games against the Knights.
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Key match-up
He's been used in the middle and on an edge this season but Mitch Barnett remains one of Newcastle's most consistent performers, and all-action back-rower who has posted career-high numbers for run metres, tackle breaks and tackles this season.
Meanwhile consistency is the one attribute that's been lacking in superstar Titans second-rower David Fifita, arguably the most dominant ball-runner in the league with the most tackle busts in the NRL and the most tries of any forward. If Fifita is kept quiet like he has been in recent weeks the Titans could struggle, but if he's on his game the Knights could find themselves in big trouble.
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Stat attack
These teams have met four times in the past three years and none of the games have been close. The Titans won comprehensively on three occasions on the Gold Coast (38-14, 36-6 and 42-16) while the Knights easily won the other match in Newcastle (38-4). This match is technically a Knights home game but the ramifications of COVID-19 mean it's taking place on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, giving the edge to the official "visitors".
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