KNIGHTS coach Adam O'Brien has urged his players to engage the capacity crowd early and tap into their passion in Sunday's blockbuster showdown with South Sydney at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Newcastle officials declared the game a sell-out earlier this week, and in the vicinity of 29,000 spectators are expected to surge through the turnstiles for a double-header that kicks off at 12pm with the Knights' defending NRLW champions taking on former three-time premiers Brisbane Broncos.
It will be the biggest attendance at a Newcastle sporting event since the 2017-18 A-League grand final, and O'Brien is naturally eager to maximise the home-ground advantage.
"They're not making tackles for us, but they certainly help us," O'Brien said of the crowd. "I don't understate what they do for us.
"Our job is to bring them into the game early and give them something to cheer about. We can control that."
O'Brien said his players were aware "there's probably a little bit of energy around the town" generated by Newcastle's six-game winning streak, which has lifted them from near the foot of the ladder into the top eight, with three regular-season rounds to play.
And after a lean run last year, when they won only two of 12 games in their own backyard, O'Brien said his troops were no longer suffering from "result anxiety" caused by trying to please their home fans.
"The narrative was that it didn't look like we cared," O'Brien recalled. "The fact was we cared too much.
"It was getting to the point in games where it was exactly that, result anxiety.
"We know the impact we have on the town, and that is an honour, but it's also some pressure. So we've just learned to accept pressure.
"It's a privilege to have that and to play in front of the town. And the pressure and expectation comes along with it."
While the Knights are brimming with confidence, O'Brien insisted they are "not walking around falling in love with ourselves and patting ourselves on the back", largely because they realise that the eighth-placed Rabbitohs are a formidable opponent.
"We know what's coming, but to sit around all week and be in awe of them is not right, either," he said. "We've got a good footy team that, we know playing our best, will put it to anyone."
O'Brien said it was "touch and go" whether playmaker Jackson Hastings would be cleared to play after suffering an ankle injury in last week's 42-6 victory against Canterbury. "Not saying he's in, not saying he's out," O'Brien said. "He's still thereabouts."
If Hastings is ruled out, O'Brien was confident experienced Adam Clune would be a capable replacement.
