CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Ms SWANSON (Paterson) (16:37): Famously, former Newcastle Knights captain Matty Johns said that the 1997 grand final win was 'better than LEGO'. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Hunter was buzzing again at the thought of the Knights chasing another Provan-Summons trophy. We could see it everywhere.

We could feel it—red and blue jerseys, flags flying and footy being talked about at the shops, at work, at the pub and at the club. Everyone was getting behind our boys and hoping this would be another year for the mighty Knights. People were painting their houses red and blue.

Within days, the Hunter was transformed into a red-and-blue wave of excitement and energy. So many Novocastrians and people from right across the Hunter wanted to be part of the moment that after tickets sold out in minutes special venues had to be opened to ensure that fans could get together to watch the game. Even my beloved Heddon Greta Drive In opened up so that local families could get together and share the excitement on the big screen at the drive-in—but don't slash the seats if you don't like the outcome, kids!

I can assure you a Roosters jersey was a rare sight in the Hunter that week, except for maybe on Pat Conroy, my lovely colleague. On grand final night, plenty of us gathered around the television to cheer them on. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be.

To lose a grand final by one point is just heartbreaking, but we'll come back again. Those boys did us proud. To go from last year's wooden spoon to playing in the biggest game of the year was an extraordinary achievement.

The Knights gave our region so much to cheer about, and they should be incredibly proud of what they've accomplished. While we were all caught up in the excitement of the grand final, there was another huge celebration of rugby league happening right in our backyard as well. Over the October long weekend, the Koori Knockout was played in Raymond Terrace—where my office is, on Worimi country—bringing around 40,000 people to our region.

And what a fantastic event to host! The Koori Knockout is about so much more than football; it's about bringing people together to celebrate sport, culture and family and just have a great time. Our very own Newcastle Yowies gave us plenty to cheer about, taking out the women's first-grade title for a second year running with a 14-6 win over the Redfern All Blacks.

Congratulations to the Yowies. What a wonderful achievement! But I just want to say: you know what?

We're working on our footy. We'll get out the Lego. We'll build again.

We'll be back next year for another cracking season of football.