Newcastle Knights legend and current staff member Danny Buderus has revealed the Hunter-based side are aiming for a top four finish in 2024.
The Knights will be one of the more intriguing teams to follow throughout the 2024 campaign as they attempt to back up an incredible second half of last season.
A run of wins saw the Knights go from an almost bottom four certainty with coach Adam O'Brien seemingly hanging by a thread for his job, to a top-eight side that hosted an elimination final, which they won in a thriller with a sold out crowd on hand against the Canberra Raiders.
A taste of finals action was cut short by the red-hot New Zealand Warriors in Auckland the following week, but the Knights are now aiming for a double chance in 2024, with Buderus telling the media per the Newcastle Herald that the attitude at the club has changed on the back of their 2023 run.
"The language and the dialogue, you've got to keep changing that now you've got some belief and evidence of what you can do," Buderus said.
"You start to go: 'Well, righto, where can we end up?'
"You're sort of not talking about top eight anymore, you're talking about top four and where you need to finish.
"I think that's the way we've all got to start thinking and training, and that's the mindset going into the season."
Newcastle's run through 2023 saw Kalyn Ponga take plenty of the credit, although it was a complete team effort in the face of early-season adversity.
The club do have a number of departures for 2024, with the biggest of them being Lachlan Fitzgibbon and Dominic Young, while the likes of Kurt Mann, Simi Sasagi, Lachlan Miller and Adam Clune have also departed.
The inclusions - led by English duo Kai Pearce-Paul and Will Pryce - as well as ex-Penrith back-up Jack Cogger will provide a fresh burst of energy for O'Brien's side though, with the coach reportedly closing on extending his stint in charge of the Hunter-based outfit.
The Knights open their season with the first game on Australian shores in 2024, clashing with the Canberra Raiders on Thursday, March 7 in a replay of last year's elimination final.