With 2017 just around the corner thereโ€™s still a question mark over the fullback position for the nib Newcastle Knights heading into next season.

While a number of players in the squad are capable of playing at fullback, Brown has now narrowed the candidates down to just two.

โ€œIn the short term itโ€™ll come down to either Dylan Phythian or Pete Mataโ€™utia,โ€ he told Knights TV.

โ€œTheyโ€™re both doing some really good stuff and the team has confidence in them, which is important.โ€

Phythian has less than 60 minutes of NRL experience under his belt but proved a tenacious competitor when he did get his opportunity.

He has also played plenty of fullback in the lower grades, while Mataโ€™utia has spent the majority of his last few years out on the flanks.

โ€œItโ€™s Dylanโ€™s first NRL pre-season, but heโ€™s a very good competitor and his fitness levels are great,โ€ Brown said of the 21-year-old, who recently re-signed with the Club for another year.

โ€œBefore we took him on full-time Craig Smith and Danny Buderus both said his fitness levels and ability to train were very strong.

โ€œHeโ€™s also a real natural for the game.โ€

Mataโ€™utia, on the other hand, is one of the Clubโ€™s more experienced players, having made 52 NRL appearances.

At 26 heโ€™s moving into the prime of his career as well.

โ€œPete Mataโ€™utiaโ€™s obviously got a fair bit more experience in the gameโ€ฆ heโ€™s been in full-time systems for a long time now,โ€ Brown said.

โ€œHis experience at fullback is a little bit limited, as heโ€™s spent most of his NRL career at wing or centre.โ€

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