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KURT Mann's days as a utility player appear over and he is set to start 2020 as Newcastle's long-term five-eighth. Knights skipper Mitchell Pearce has played alongside six halves partners in his two seasons at Newcastle - Connor Watson, Jack Cogger, Brock Lamb, Kalyn Ponga, Mann and Mason Lino - and new coach Adam O'Brien admitted before this pre-season kicked off that settling on a pivot would be a priority. Teenager Phoenix Crossland, who made his NRL debut off the bench last season, is vying for the job with Mann and Lino, although the latter is yet to resume full training after off-season shoulder surgery. Crossland has been hindered by a niggling groin injury, while Mann is understood to have trained strongly and staked a worthy claim for the No.6 jersey in Newcastle's opening trial match, against St George Illawarra at Maitland on February 22. Mann, 26, has appeared in 107 NRL games for Melbourne, the Dragons and the Knights and played in every backline position, as well as hooker. He has started only 12 games as pivot, but five-eighth was the position he played as a junior and remains his preferred role. Pearce said he would leave selection decisions to O'Brien but admitted having a regular playmaking pairing would be beneficial. "I think consistency in positions is a big thing for us," Pearce said. "There's no doubt about that, across the board. Having consistency each week brings consistency to your performances and combinations. "At the end of the day, Adam will have his ideas on what he wants to do. He might bounce some ideas off us senior players, but I'm sure he'll pick the right guy for that position and stick with him." Pearce said judging by the first six weeks of pre-season, Mann looked like "owning' the role. "Kurt's been a standout," Pearce said. "He's been training there pretty much all pre-season. "Phoenix has been struggling with his groin a bit, but he's a great young player. "I don't think there are going to be any massive surprises, but I know that whoever plays there, if he's trusted to do it, he'll do a great job ... I'm sure that will be a position that we want to have consistency around." The likelihood of Mann playing five-eighth means that Newcastle's other jack-of-all-trades, Watson, appears destined for a regular role as bench utility. Like Mann, Watson can play most positions in the backline and he also shone at times last season as a makeshift hooker. He is also understood to have spent some of the pre-season training as lock. The Knights returned to work on Monday after their Christmas-New Year break and were eased back into action. Players were given individual programs to follow over their holidays to ensure they kept ticking over physically. After the intense strength-and-conditioning phase before Christmas, they are expected to focus more on tactics and structure in the countdown to their trial matches. Their first competition game, against the Warriors, is on March 1.

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