KNIGHTS captain Kurt Gidley will have scans today on a knee injury that may rule him out of Newcastle's last game of the season against Melbourne at sold-out AAMI Park on Sunday.
Gidley suffered suspected cartilage damage behind his kneecap in the 26-18 loss to the Dragons at EnergyAustralia Stadium on Saturday, which snuffed out Newcastle's last faint finals hopes and secured St George Illawarra's second straight minor premiership.
In another injury blow, fullback Shannon McDonnell aggravated a hamstring problem he suffered at training last Tuesday and he is in doubt for what is a dead rubber against the Storm.
Clearly in pain, Gidley shifted from the halves to the left wing for the final minutes against the Dragons and hobbled from the field at full-time.
McDonnell limped off in the 28th minute and was replaced by utility back Wes Naiqama.
Knights coach Rick Stone will assess Gidley's scan results and medical reports on both players before naming his team but if they are unavailable for the trip to Melbourne, Naiqama is expected to start at fullback and Scott Dureau is the likely new halfback.
The first indication from Knights medical staff was that Gidley's injury was similar to the one he suffered playing for Australia against New Zealand in Sydney in the opening game of the Centenary World Cup two years ago.
Though he is desperate to lead the Knights in their last game of the year, Gidley is a certainty for Australia's Four Nations squad for the Test series against New Zealand, England and Papua New Guinea in October and November and would be loath to risk aggravating the injury by playing hurt against Melbourne.
Veteran centre Adam MacDougall hopes to sign a one-year contract extension with the Knights by the end of this week.
MacDougall said he had knocked back an offer from a Sydney-based club and he was close to agreeing to terms for another year in Newcastle after positive discussions between his manager, George Mimis, and Knights officials in the past two weeks.
"I spoke to him the other day and he said he was hoping to get a deal sorted out by this week just gone, so I'm hoping we'll resolve something definitely before the end of this week," MacDougall said.
The 35-year-old international became the club's leading try-scorer when he touched down for Newcastle's first try against the Dragons.
It was MacDougall's 83rd career try for the Knights, taking him past Timana Tahu's 82.
"Everyone says records don't mean a lot and obviously they don't but it's still something nice to have at the moment," he said.
"The club's been in the comp for 23 years, so to be the highest ever try-scorer at the club is a great honour.
"The try was good in that it got us back in the game and gave us some momentum . . . It would have been better if it had contributed to a better result but to break the record in front of a full house on Old Boys' night, it's something I'll remember for a long time."
Tackled by Matt Cooper and Brett Morris, there was doubt about whether MacDougall grounded the ball, so referee Shayne Hayne called for help from video referee Russell Smith.
Smith sent the decision back to the field and Hayne gave the try.
"I thought he could have made the call there and then," MacDougall said.
? Central Coast Centurions walloped finals-bound Windsor Wolves 52-26 in the NSW Cup game at Windsor on Saturday.
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