Knights fans paint the town red and blue as grand final hysteria takes hold

by · Newcastle Herald
Teigan and Samuel Jobbins have previously painted their fence red and blue. Picture by Marina Neil

Yep. They're painting the houses again.

Nobody does grand finals quite like Newcastle. If you're old enough to remember 1997 and 2001, you know the city collectively lost its mind.

One of the defining images of the build-up to the 1997 decider against Manly was the house in Lambton painted with red and blue stripes.

Plenty of NRL clubs boast passionate fans, but not many have supporters who are willing to pick up a paintbrush and proudly emblazon their fandom on their family home.

Mathew Casserly and Rhiannon Casserly and daughter Eva and Teigan and Samuel Jobbins with their children George and Alfie outside their New Lambton home. Picture by Marina Neil

On Monday, New Lambton couple Samuel and Teigan Jobbins painted their St James Road home in Knights colours with help from their friends Mathew and Rhiannon Casserly.

"I remember being 10 when the Knights won in 2001 and you'd see houses painted and I thought that was sick," Mr Jobbins said.

"I thought we'd better do that for the kids today. Everyone is driving past and beeping their horns. It feels really special to give back to the community."

Samuel Jobbins said a clear memory from the 2001 grand final were the painted houses. Picture by Marina Neil

Two years ago the Jobbins family painted their fence red and blue to celebrate making the semi-finals, but the club's first NRL grand final in 25 years against the Sydney Roosters meant taking the plunge and painting the entire front of the home.

Mr Jobbins, who is a former Knights junior player, and his friends and family watched the dramatic preliminary final win over Penrith at his friend's property.

"When Crossland got sent off, everyone's heads went down, but we kept the spirit going in the shed," Mr Jobbins said.

"We put a wooden spoon out the front last year, so to go from the spoon to the grand final is unbelievable.

"Everyone's frothing. This week is going to be unbelievable."

Brothers Nathan and Lachlan Gray at Lachlan's Waratah house. Picture by Marina Neil

Knights member and professional painter Lachlan Gray was also putting the finishing touches of red and blue stripes on his Waratah home on Monday afternoon with help from his brother Nathan.

The pair travelled to Accor Stadium on Sunday for the game and were nursing sore heads along with their paintbrushes on Monday.

Mr Gray is no novice painter and owns the painting business, Shades of Gray Painting and Decorating.

"I'll probably leave it here for a couple of months," he said.

"I don't know how long it will stay. I think my fiancee [Amy Kingshott] will be on my tail to get it back to how it was."

The brothers were motivated to paint the house after attending the Knights' classic victory over the Panthers. Picture by Marina Neil

The former Lambton High School student was a toddler the last time the Knights shocked Parramatta and won the 2001 grand final, and he's desperate to find tickets.

"I was two years old, so I don't remember it," he said. "I reckon it would be the best day of my life.

"It would be amazing to go see. I missed out on tickets this morning, but hopefully we can get some and get down there. If not, we'll be watching on TV."

Elsewhere in Newcastle, Knights hysteria is running wild.

The Knights posted on social media on Monday that "due to a high volume of orders, the club shop is closed this morning."

The club shop later reopened.

A spokesperson for Charlestown Square also said Rebel and Kmart were close to selling out of Knights merchandise as fans clamoured for red and blue.