Knights coach Adam O'Brien says his side's final round loss to Brisbane won't leave any scarring

Off the back of their 35-22 loss to the Broncos that ended a five-game winning streak, the Knights will go in against the Eels as big underdogs in their bid to advance to the second week of the finals.

That's despite the return of seven players who missed the Brisbane game due to injury or being rested.

Almost the entire starting forward pack of Daniel and Jacob Saifiti, Jayden Brailey, Mitch Barnett and Tyson Frizell, along with bench prop Jesse Sue and winger Hymel Hunt will be back to take on the Eels.

Not surprisingly, O'Brien, a former Batemans Bay Tiger, bristled at suggestions there could be some scarring after Saturday's final round touch-up from Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium.

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"We had seven guys who would normally have been out there playing who were back at our team hotel watching the game," he said. "Add to that Junior [Mitchell Pearce] and KP [Kalyn Ponga] only playing 45 minutes.

"So all I'd say is anyone who seriously believes our confidence will take a hit because of the result is kidding themselves.

"If anything, the guys who didn't play would be proud of the kids who came in and fought so hard to give ourselves a chance of stealing the result with 10 or 12 minutes to go there.

"The Broncos had plenty to play for with Alex Glenn and [Anthony] Milford leaving so they were always going to be up for it and we played the bulk of the second half with a bunch of kids who've hardly played any footy.

"So I'm not worried about it and I can guarantee you none of our players will be either. We won't be lacking any confidence next week because of it."

What O'Brien should be worried about out of the Broncos game was his side's diabolical edge defence on both sides that leaked plenty of points and was so easily exploited by man-of-the-match Milford and Brisbane's outside backs.

Centres Kurt Mann and Bradman Best were both guilty of some awful defensive reads, rushing up out of the line and coming up empty-handed on a number of occasions. Pearce was also an offender.

There is no question Eels coach Brad Arthur will have taken note and will direct his side to attack the edges through their halves Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown and fullback Clint Gutherson.

"It's definitely an area we need to fix quickly," O'Brien acknowledged.

"The rushing up and jamming in on guys and coming up empty, that wasn't part of the plan but without making excuses, maybe that was a reflection of the different combinations we had out there and some lack of trust.

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"We probably also didn't have the normal defensive pressure we'd have in the middle of the park either that effects what happens on the edges.

"With everyone back, there won't be that excuse next week because they'll be standing next to guys they normally defend with. But it's something out of the game we obviously need to address in our review."

While his side's attack remains clunky and was a long way from humming, even when Pearce and Ponga were out there, O'Brien says playing them for more than half a game was still a worthwhile exercise.

"We had a plan that we stuck to in terms of the minutes Junior and KP played and I didn't let the scoreboard dictate that," he said. "I think we were down 24-4 when they came off.

"The important thing is they got to play together a little bit more and although our execution and skill level let us down and we bombed a number of the opportunities we created, I still felt it was certainly worth it."