It's been a long time since Newcastle Knights fans have been able to welcome a premiership winning side home, but they made sure to give the champion NRLW side the celebration they deserved.
Red and blue jerseys and flags were out in force on King Street outside Newcastle City Hall on Tuesday afternoon as hundreds cheered on their grand final-winning hometown heroes at a civic reception.
A chant of "NEW-CAST-LE" went up as the players came out onto the balcony above the street.
"It really means a lot to have you all here, we definitely did not expect this at all," captain Millie Boyle told the crowd. "We just feel the love so much in this team and it comes from you guys having that belief in us.
"Up the Newcastle Knights!"
Boyle said a premiership was a "dream" in the back of the players' minds at the start of the season, and they focused on one game at a time to get there.
"It's only a short season and you can't afford to lose any games and I think we were hitting out straps and our paces when we needed to come finals time," she said.
"It's such a credit to the coaching staff and our whole team."
The Knights women were awarded ceremonial keys to the city by lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes, who declared the team as the "pride of the city".
"We have a trophy back in Newcastle after a very long drought," she said.
"It is absolutely phenomenal, these women are amazing athletes, amazing representatives of the City of Newcastle and of the Hunter region.
"You've done us proud, congratulations on behalf of everyone."
