‘Gives me goosebumps’: Matty’s emotional Newcastle message as city rallies behind Knights

NRL NRL-PREMIERSHIP ‘Gives me goosebumps’: Matty’s emotional Newcastle message as city rallies behind Knights Matty emotional reflecting on Newcastle | 01:42 Fox League from Fox Sports September 26th, 2026 12:57 pm What would a spot in next week’s decider mean for the city of Newcastle? Well, Knights premiership winner Matty Johns has a pretty good idea.

The Knights are preparing for their first preliminary final in 13 years. They’ll take on Penrith at CommBank Stadium on Sunday for a spot in a grand final.

Johns, who helped deliver the club their maiden premiership in 1997, became emotional on Thursday night’s episode of NRL360 when detailing the importance of the Knights to the city of Newcastle.

“Joey (brother Andrew) and I were talking about the link between the town and community and it’ll just be unbelievable,” Johns said.

“Every club has their special connection.