A debilitating case of second-half syndrome will be on the minds of Newcastle's players when they take on Cronulla in Saturday night's NRL clash at Toyota Stadium.

The Knights are yet to win the second 40 minutes in six games this year, most lamentably giving up a 24-6 lead at home against Penrith two weeks ago to go down 34-30.

The habit also proved costly against then-premiers Melbourne, who Newcastle led 14-12 at the break before losing 20-14 in round two.

Rick Stone's men were at it again last weekend when they led 30-6 over North Queensland at the break, before hanging on to win 36-18 against the fast-finishing Cowboys.

On average in 2010, the Knights are losing the second period 15-5, and coach Stone said that was the focus as the Knights prepared to take on the down-and-out Sharks.

"Definitely making sure that we aren't the ones to make the first mistake in the second half," said Stone.

"There's a couple of times this year where we have made the first mistake or been a little bit poor in our energy in D (defence) and the opposition has capitalised on that and basically spent the next five or six sets with the footy and has really drained our juice.

"Making sure that we keep our gas fairly even with the opposition is important and if we can complete our sets and play with the sort of energy that we have been playing with in the first half we will be a lot better off."

Barnstorming forward Zeb Taia (ribs) is likely to force his way into the 17 after passing a fitness test, while Stone has stuck with Ben Rogers at five-eighth, after an impressive first game of 2010 against the Cowboys, and Jarrod Mullen at halfback.

"I think they did enough to retain their places for this week and hopefully they can continue to build their combo," Stone said.

Sharks centre Dean Collis (ankle) has put his hand up for an early return from injury after Ben Pomeroy was ruled out needing finger surgery.

Cronulla will be desperate to rediscover their grit in defence after leaking 84 points in the past two weeks.

Ricky Stuart's side have lost 15 of their past 16 games, with a tough 11-0 victory over Parramatta all they have to show for season 2010.

They have, however, already avoided the wooden spoon after Melbourne's points from this campaign were stripped following the club's salary cap scandal.

The Knights will be looking for their third win of the year and back-to-back victories for the first time this season.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP