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The heart of Newcastle: fans chant even in defeat
Morgan Reinwald, AAP •  October 5th, 2026 7:46 am
22,000 Newcastle fans watched a screening of the NRL grand final at the McDonald Jones Stadium | Photo: PR Image
The Knights may have lost the NRL grand final but their fans in Newcastle have still shown the same sort of heart across the city that their team showed in Sydney.
Tickets to the decider were hard to come by and Newcastle's population of roughly 550,000 re-routed to pubs across the city on Sunday, while more than 22,000 united at McDonald Jones Stadium to watch the Knights' brave bid for glory on the big screen.
The pundits never fancied the Knights to win but that only gave diehard supporters all the more reason to go wild when Francis Manuleleua crossed over for the first try of the evening, 15 minutes in.
Luke Lawson was one of the fans who turned out to watch the Knights' brave bid | Photo: PR Image
And when Kalyn Ponga intercepted the ball to run the full length of the field to score another try some 15 minutes later, everyone at the Knights' home base went even crazier.
Beers was tossed into the air from the stands and across the field as though a date with destiny was surely in store after 25 years without winning a premiership.
But, alas for the Knights' faithful, the Roosters found a way back at Accor Stadium, managing to hold on for a 19-18 win despite a late fightback from never-say-die Newcastle.
There was a momentary silence when the final whistle blew, but it wasn't enough to crush the hearts of the fans up north, who kept on chanting the city's name in unison.
It had been a traumatic week, with the town having already had to come together, donating tens of thousands of dollars after the traumatic incident in which 10 fans had been injured.
A car had driven into a crowd gathered to farewell the Knights' team bus headed for the grand final, and a five-year-old girl remains in hospital in critical condition.
But amid all that sorrow the fans were determined to carry on cheering the team, fans like 30-year-old Kirra Viall, who told AAP that it was the spirit of the Knights' fans that trumped the end result.
"The community aspect is the most important part of tonight," she said.
"Win or lose, Newcastle will still paint the town red-and-blue tonight.
"We'll be out in Newcastle, we'll be celebrating with everyone, and just doing what Newcastle does on a grand final."
