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From wooden spoon to grand final: Newcastle's remarkable 12-month turnaround
Annabelle Banfield, AAP • September 28th, 2026 7:12 am
Bradman Best | Photo: AAP
It wasn't an easy journey, but Newcastle fans showed up to their preliminary final in full force, dominating the crowd and inspiring their team to a victory set to live on as Novocastrian legend.
Accor Stadium in western Sydney turned into a Knights' fortress despite being more than 150km from their true Hunter home.
The official crowd count came to 57,102, but the electric energy cultivated by the supporters inside the stadium gave it the atmosphere of a full-house.
The blue-and-red army faced a tough journey before the main battle, navigating significant train delays, caused by a broken down freight train, and major gridlock on the motorway.
Yet nothing could stop the Knights' faithful.
Newcastle Knights celebrate with their fans | Photo: AAP
Coach Justin Holbrook was full of gratitude for those who made the trek and who may well be the reason he is heading into his first grand final as a head coach.
"Thinking about how many fans came down and the trains stopped and the buses and the traffic and it took them four hours to get there," Holbrook said.
"I wanted to thank them so I ran around the field and it was so special, we want to make our community proud, our Hunter region."
Even when Phoenix Crossland was sent off and the Knights played a man down for the entire second half, the crowd provided the boost the team desperately needed to see out the win, and a second half shut-out.
"We went down to 12 but then all of a sudden, 30-odd thousand make you feel like you've got 14 on there."
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Now the whole city will be hopping on the bandwagon as the club heads to its biggest game in a quarter of a century.
Halfback Sandon Smith's two runaway tries helped steer his side to victory in his first season as a Knight.
"When I first came to the club, I heard a lot about the town and how the football sort of reflects the town," the former Sydney rooster said post-game.
"It's so true and it's so special."
The last year has been an emotional rollercoaster for Newcastle fans.
In 2025 they were gutted to be recipients of the wooden spoon, and now just 12 months later, they're getting ready for a grand final.
And despite once again facing a far greater distance to game day than their opponents, the Novocastrians are expected to outnumber the tricolour crowd on Sunday.
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