It always promised to be a Saturday morning like no other.
That promise held true, but horrifically not in the manner anyone ever imagined.
It was an opportunity for the Newcastle community to come together.
To line the streets and give the Knights players and staff one final boost of emotional support and love before crossing that white line at Accor Stadium against the Sydney Roosters.
There were thousands of Novocastrians who lined the streets. It began at the Centre of Excellence at Broadmeadow, and snaked its way along Turton Road, and then west down Griffiths Road and Newcastle Road.
Thankfully nobody followed the AI-generated Knights bus map that was doing the rounds on social media. It positioned Mayfield West next to Broadmeadow and had the bus travelling east.
Everywhere you looked, there were Knights jerseys, flags and homemade signs saying "go Knights" or "cook the chooks."
Cars and trucks passed by beeping horns of support, and there were even several cars painted with red and blue stripes. One pet pooch was spotted donning the red and blue.
The Knights' Sid Foggs bus finally pulled out at 9.30am from the Centre of Excellence and slowly drove west.
The tinted glass windows of the bus made it impossible for fans to see the players. However, the colour and noise and energy generated guaranteed every player saw the support.
The vast majority of the thousands of fans who lined the streets had no idea anything tragic was occurring further up the road.
At Wallsend, where thousands of people had amassed along Thomas Street, the first indication that something was amiss came in snippets of information on social media.
Next, police and ambulance vehicles rushed up Newcastle Link Road, followed by the electronic live traffic sign, which flashed that the road was closed in both directions because of an accident.
Within minutes, a scene of jubilation transformed. A sombre mood descended.
The realisation that something tragic had occurred only deepened as police began roping off an area of the Wallsend touch football field for the helicopters.
