The Knights claimed the wooden spoon 12 months ago; now, after beating Penrith in Sunday's preliminary final, they are bound for the NRL grand final.
It will be Newcastle's first grand final appearance in 25 years.
Captain Kalyn Ponga walked off the field and into the tunnel, able to say only, "Holy s***. Holy s***."
The players began to take in the achievement as they made their way through the tunnel.
"It's still pretty surreal to be honest. It's not really sunk in yet," Knights winger Dominic Young told foxsports.com.au.
"We're just happy and excited, especially given the circumstances. It was a massive, massive effort.
"I'm speechless. It didn't feel real.
Ten minutes to go, you look at the clock and you're up and know you're so close and when it finally ends, I can't really describe it."