Newcastle coach Nathan Brown admits he’s tempted to play his bevy of State of Origin stars just 48 hours after their game three decider next week.

The Knights remain in fifth spot in the NRL despite Saturday’s dramatic four-point loss to the Warriors at McDonald Jones Stadium.

However with Origin period almost over and the business end approaching, the defeat means next Friday’s clash with Canterbury will be crucial for Brown’s men.

Just four points separate third-placed South Sydney and the Wests Tigers in ninth.

It leaves Brown with the difficult decision of asking the likes of Mitchell Pearce, David Klemmer, Daniel Saifiti and Tim Glasby to back up against the Bulldogs.

Star fullback Kalyn Ponga is also understood to be another week away from full health as he recovers from a calf injury that sidelined him from from Origin.

“We’ll have to have a look at it and see how they all come through,” Brown said.

“Certainly we didn’t back them up after the first one, then obviously they were stood down for the next one, so we’ll certainly be tempted to (play them).

“(Pearce has) played plenty of Origin, Klem’s played plenty, (and) Glas is getting his numbers up there now. We’ll just have to see how their bodies are.”

After winning six in a row, the Knights have now lost two of their past three in what has been a challenging Origin period.

Newcastle had no NSW or Queensland representatives in game three last year.

They also had to overcome the mid-week loss of Pearce, who was dramatically rushed into the Blues squad following the withdrawal of Nathan Cleary.

“It’s a great challenge for us as a club,” Brown said.

“We planned some stuff earlier in the week when we had Junior with us. And then we didn’t have Junior so we had to change our team around a little bit.

“So we didn’t get as much preparation as we would’ve liked.

“But to have five Origin players when we had none 18 months ago, we can be really happy that we’re getting some things right, that’s for sure.”