![It will be a full house at Mt Smart Stadium for the semi-final. Picture Getty Images It will be a full house at Mt Smart Stadium for the semi-final. Picture Getty Images](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/max.mckinney/4959c032-239f-4a12-9996-17d8d0e44146.jpg/r0_0_5329_3553_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Newcastle Knights are ready to embrace a "mad" Kiwi-strong crowd and to defy their own terrible record at Mt Smart Stadium in Saturday's semi-final against the Warriors.
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Riding a wave of hometown support, the Knights had near 30,000 fans wooing them to victory over Canberra in Sunday's eliminator, but they face a polar-opposite atmosphere in Auckland where they have won just two of their past 14 games.
More than 25,000 will attend the do-or-die clash, and apart from a smattering of Knights' diehards and some players' families, the crowd will be dominated by a reinvigorated Warriors fan base.
The last few thousand tickets for the game were snapped up in just minutes on Tuesday as the New Zealand public raced to jump on the bandwagon.
Similar to the Knights last week, who played their first home final since 2006, the Warriors haven't hosted a final since 2008. They made the grand final in 2011, but essentially played three consecutive elimination games in Australia to get there.
They also haven't played finals, at all, since 2018.
"Over there, they're going to be absolutely off their heads," Knights prop Jack Hetherington, who played six games for the Warriors in the COVID-interrupted 2020 season, said of the clash.
"The crowd is going to be unreal and they're going to be going mad, but we love that stuff - we embrace it."
![Jack Hetherington. Picture Getty Images Jack Hetherington. Picture Getty Images](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/max.mckinney/c643b891-39a3-4ed2-8ff8-399fc07c54a5.jpg/r0_0_5510_3673_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Warriors, who are at home after losing to Penrith in last week's qualifying final, have enjoyed their best season, based on their fourth-placed finish, since 2007.
But it's the way their fans, the city of Auckland and country at-large has embraced the side that has made their season so special.
Permanently back at their spiritual home after three seasons mostly spent living out of suitcases in Australia due to COVID, they've become the hottest ticket in town.
Seven of their nine home games in Auckland attracted more than 20,000 fans.
The Andrew Webster-coached side have also made Mt Smart one of the toughest road trips again, winning seven of nine there.
The Knights have one of the worst records at the venue. Overall, they've won nine of 24 games, drawing two. But since 2006, they've won two of 14, victorious 36-18 in their most recent visit in 2019 and 24-19 back in 2012.
Kurt Mann, who has twice visited Mt Smart as a Knights player for one win and one loss, is expecting one of the most hostile receptions ever in his 178-game career.
"It will be the exact same as what it was here the other night, but just for the other team," the utility said.
"I've seen a bit about 'Up the Wahs' and that sort of stuff. When you play the Nines over there, it's a carnival atmosphere and I think it will probably be the same."
The two sides have met twice this season.
The Warriors claimed a 20-12 win in the season opener at Wellington, while the Knights hit back with a 34-24 victory in Newcastle in round six.
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