The Blacks unveiled new signings hooker Sapatia Peniata from The Waratahs, Irish prop James Robinson and New Zealand forward Travis Brooke in their two try loss to Merewether Carlton at Marcellin Park on Saturday.

Blacks coach Mick Hickling said he was pleased with the team’s peformance, particularly without key players Nick Davidson and James Curren.

“I’m pleased with where we are at. We didn’t have Davo or James Curran. We’ll bring those two guys back into the fold and have a couple of weeks to work on our combinations,” Hickling said.

“We’ve got a few different combinations and we’ll settle those down in the next couple of weeks.

“I’m quite pleased with how the new guys have settled into the club and how they’ve been performing in the trials. I thought our forwards were particularly strong on Saturday. 

“All the grades had a trial so there were plenty of players getting a run. We’ll get an idea of how we are placed.”