The last time the Knights played at home it was a pulsating contest that went down to the wire against the Canberra Raiders.
The red and blue crowd at Hunter Stadium were an 18th man, their support urging the Knights on to come back from 16 points down.
For new recruit Trent Hodkinson it demonstrated how important a strong home crowd is for the Knights, and now he can’t wait to get back out there to experience it again.
“Although we didn’t get the win in our first one, it was really exciting to see the home fans out there,” he said at the captain’s run on Saturday morning.
“The community really got behind us and I’m looking forward to getting back out there and putting in a good performance for the fans.”
While the Knights are still yet to record a win, Hodkinson feels the team developed crucial confidence against the Melbourne Storm last weekend that can be used to go one step further in Round 6.
“The mood has been great coming back from those eight days away. It was a great time to bond with the teammates and I think we can take a lot of confidence out of that Melbourne game,” he explained.
“Melbourne are one of the benchmark teams in the competition, so we got a lot of confidence out of that.”
The return of joint-captain Tariq Sims will further boost the Knights’ hopes, and Hodkinson can’t wait to get out on the field with the firebrand forward.
“Tariq brings so much to the table and I know he’s ready to go,” Hodkinson said.
“He’s licking his lips to get back out there, and he’s going to add so much to our team.”
