South Sydney and Newcastle enter Friday night's meeting at Allianz Stadium level on 34 competition points, making the result important to their finals campaigns.
The Rabbitohs are pursuing a place inside the top six as the regular season approaches its closing weeks.
They have won four of their last five matches, with their latest performances producing emphatic victories against the Sydney Roosters and Gold Coast Titans.
South Sydney defeated the Roosters 50-20 at Allianz Stadium in round 27, following a 42-22 win over the Titans on the Gold Coast in round 26.
Those results came after victories against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Parramatta Eels. Their only defeat across that five-match period was against the New Zealand Warriors in round 25.