Newcastle will likely host Canberra in the opening round of next year's NRL season, a fortnight after they face Melbourne in Fiji in a trial the governing body is expected to confirm on Friday.
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Leaked round-one fixtures for the 2024 competition have the Knights pencilled in to take on the Raiders at McDonald Jones Stadium on Thursday, March 7.
The match would be the first of the regular season played in Australia after the planned double-header in Las Vegas the weekend prior.
It would be Newcastle's first season-opener at home since 2021, when they beat Canterbury 32-16.
A Thursday game is somewhat of a rarity for the Knights, having played only seven over the past 11 years since they became a regular match day in 2013.
The Knights actually opened their 2012 season on a Thursday at home, when in Wayne Bennett's first game as coach his old club St George Illawarra claimed a famous 15-14 golden-point victory in front of 29,189 fans.
A clash with the Raiders in round one next year would come after the Knights eliminated the Green Machine in the play-offs last season.
The game lived up to the hype with the Knights kicking an 88th-minute penalty goal to claim a 30-28 extra-time victory in front of a raucous sold-out crowd at home.
It wasn't without controversy either after Tyson Gamble accused Jack Wighton of biting.
Wighton was found guilty and banned for three matches, but he has since departed the Raiders for South Sydney anyway.
Mooted pre-season fixtures suggest the Knights will again face the Sharks in a trial at Central Coast Stadium over February 15-18, and the Storm a week later in Fiji.
As reported on Thursday, the Storm sought out Newcastle as an opponent after picking up a sponsorship deal with Fiji Airways.
The All Stars match is slated for February 16.
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