Thousands filled the grounds of McDonalds Jones Stadium, gearing up for the Knights season-opener on Thursday March 7.
The Newcastle Knights faced their first game of the season against the Canberra Raiders at 8pm and club officials expected over 20,000 fans to attend, creating a palpable atmosphere outside the stadium as the gates opened.
Rita Parish and Judy Winterburn were long time fans who travelled from Maitland.
They have been coming to watch the Knights since they first started playing at McDonalds Jones Stadium.
"The first game of the season, will be ours," Ms Parish said, "We're going to win it".
"We've been coming for quite a while, day and night."
They said they have been eagerly waiting for the gates to open, and would come to a Knights game "rain, hail or shine".
Siblings Billie Davis and Luca Davis, and their cousin, Lakey Miller, loved the team and were life-long fans.
The youngsters were very excited for the first game of the season and thought the Knights will win for one simple reason: "Because they are the best!"
Billie and Luca were also waiting to see their brothers play in the junior team at half time.
Surrounding restaurants and bars were expecting to have a lot on their plate as fans grab their pre-game meal.
Sunnyside Tavern manager, Camille Home said they had booked 100 people for dinner and are expecting their bar walk-ins to be full.
"We are going to be so busy," Ms Home said.
"Everyone is always very excited when footy is back in season," she said.
General Roberts pub in Lambton said they were also booking up early.
Manager, Karen Klironomakis said they booked 120 dinner spots as people were keen to be fed and get to the game "nice and early".
Ms Klironomakis said she would be watching the game on the television and was hoping it would be great atmosphere at the fortress.
"Being the first home game, its going to be really busy, so we're going to put our game faces on and so every one can have a quick nice walk to the stadium," Ms Klironomakis said.
