Dozens of teenagers wearing mullets turned out to honour Newcastle playmaker Fletcher Sharpe at McDonald Jones Stadium on Wednesday.
They joined more than 12,000 Novocastrians at an open training session celebrating the club's grand-final heroes.
The turnout exceeded crowds at several NRL games this year, showing the strength of local support.
Former Knights player Alex McKinnon attended, as did a superfan wearing a forged steel helmet in a knights-of-the-realm style.
The fan's head baked in the midday sun as Newcastle embraced its "the town, the team" ethos.