Newcastle are on the cusp of establishing an NRLW dynasty but captain Hannah Southwell knows all too well how easily a side's carefully constructed plans for supremacy can come crashing down.
Last year's premiers, the Knights stormed to the first minor premiership in club history - women or men - with an 8-1 record at the end of the regular season.
Fixturing changes this year have opened the door for the Knights to host their semi-final against Brisbane at McDonald Jones Stadium, where they have won seven games in a row.
But history suggests it's easier said than done to coast into a grand final from first place on the ladder, with the fourth-placed side upsetting the ladder leaders in both seasons since the NRLW draw expanded to include semi-finals.
Southwell played for the first of those victorious fourth-placed sides, the Sydney Roosters, when they upset Brisbane in 2021 and went on to win the premiership.
Instead of charging to a fourth consecutive title, the table-topping Broncos bowed out of the finals early before missing them altogether in 2022.
Southwell has warned lapses in concentration could lead the Knights down a similar path.
"Nothing's a guarantee," she told AAP.
"Look what happened in the 2021 season, when we came up against the Broncos as the Roosters.
"No one backed us and we won, then we won the comp.
"(Building a dynasty) is definitely a goal of ours but we've got to make sure we win and keep winning and just enjoy our footy.
"We're just a team of chicks that love footy, love playing for each other, love playing for the town. We're not thinking about anything else."
After dropping three of their first five games this year, the Broncos have become specialists at triumphing in high-stakes encounters on a four-game winning streak that drove them to a fourth-place finish.
"We have been playing do-or-die for the last three weeks," coach Scott Prince told AAP.
"Newcastle are a quality team and not the minor premiers for nothing. They have strike across the park.
"But they could afford to drop a game at the back end of the season.
"They don't have that luxury of 'next week' now but that is something we have been staring down the barrel of the last three weeks."
Neutralising ex-Bronco Tamika Upton, the NRLW's form player, looms as critical for the visitors on Sunday.
The Knights fullback leads the league in run metres, is ranked fifth for tackle breaks and second for line-break assists.
"Tamika is an absolute freak and regarded as the best player in the game today," Prince said.
"It is not about trying to stop her. It is about minimising her impact and the damage."
