If this doesn’t sum up the passion Newcastle players have for the community, then nothing will.
When it comes to losses, no players take them as personally as Knights players.
According to 2001 premiership winner Daniel Abraham, he would be so hurt after a loss that he would punish himself.
Taking pride in the Club’s ability to have a strong influence on the mood of the community, the former backrower would place himself on a house arrest of sorts.
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“When the Knights are playing well and they’re winning, the town’s different, the whole town. They influence the whole town,” Abraham said.
“If I was to play bad and we lost, I wouldn’t leave the house.
“I wouldn’t go out for dinner. I would stay at home, thinking about what I had to do next week and turn this around.”
Knights fans are a different breed.
In the late 90s and early 00’s, it was the Joey Johns era.
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Premierships were in sight and won. And the Knights took a great pride in their ability to impact the lives of others.
Embodying a passion for the game like few others, the support from the locals was powerful.
Although, with great power, comes great expectations.
That’s why Abraham took the losses so personally.
“The team had that, and still does have that influence on these people,” Abraham told the Our Town Our Team podcast.
“If I’ve influenced these people so their weeks not as good as it should be, well then why should I go out and enjoy myself.
“Maybe they’re not enjoying themselves as much as they are, as (much as) they should.
“It just mattered, it mattered that much. You know, I grew up in this town. I knew a lot of people.”
While he wasn’t embarrassed to be seen in public after a poor performance, it was something he took to heart.
“I’d stay at home I guess it was a sort of this self-punishment system,” he explained.
“And it wasn’t every week but if I didn’t play well or if we didn’t play well, we had a loss, going out for dinner wasn’t a priority, probably there was things I had to do to turn it around for myself.”
