Sanderson always seems to pull out a buig game against Falcons while Jason Robinson has yet to sparkle - that's tempting fate! He missed the Sharks defeat in Glasgow because his wife wwas having a baby.

Hodgson has knee injur and Sanderson has done his shoulder. It means that Nick Walshe will continue to cover for Hodgson while Jim Mallinder has included three young players in his squad - back rowers Phil Davies and Magnus Lund and second row Christian Day. Davies made his Premiership debut against Northampton last season but Lund and Day have no Premiership experience.

Mallinder said: "This will be a very difficult game because Newcastle are hard to beat on their own patch and it is something we have never done.

"After our disappointing defeats in Europe we are keen to get back to winning ways but it will require a much better performance than we have been producing of late."

Sharks Jason Robinson, Vaughan Going, Mark Cueto, Anthony Elliott, Steve Hanley, Graeme Bond, Mel Deane, Dan Harris, Nick Walshe, Bryan Redpath capt, Jim Thorp, Kevin Yates, Barry Stewart, Stuart Turner, Dean Schofield, Chris Jones, Christian Day, Apollo Perelini, Richard Wilks, Phil Davies, Magnus Lund, Stuart Pinkerton, Pete Anglesea.

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