The plan of a Newcastle Knight was inked in black and white before anyone wore the red and blue.
Newcastle's inaugural coach Allan McMahon spelled out his vision in a 1987 newspaper column, ahead of the club's 1988 debut.
"[Players] will have an in-built desire to win as well as strength, tackling ability, and speed."
"There's a nursery for rugby league around Newcastle and that will be looked after."
McMahon will be looking down on the 2026 Knights with a special brand of pride only Novocastrians know.
The 26-year-old half-turned-hooker was sourced from the Erina Eagles, at the border of Newcastle's nursery, crafted through the club's pathways, and began into top-flight footy in 2019.
Crossland said "Justo" (coach Justin Holbrook) gave him a simple to-do list at the start of the season.
The motivation Crossland feels going into this weekend's preliminary final against the Penrith Panthers is a club-wide sentiment.
"you can sense that, for these players, no opposition scares them, no situation in a game scares them."
James, a former NRL referee, joined Newcastle from the Roosters at the start of last season.
Half of Newcastle's extended 22-player squad named earlier this week wasn't born by the 2001 grand final, when the underdog Knights upset the Eels to snatch a second premiership.
One of them is Fletcher Sharpe, the Cessnock boy who can play halfback, five-eighth, wing and centre.
Even if the finals-versed Panthers do spell the end for the Knights' 2026 campaign, it's inarguable that Newcastle is the rugby league fairytale of the year.