For 26 years, since the Knights' foundation season, a marriage with the thriving Western Suburbs Leagues Club had been viewed as a logical outcome.

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After starting out in 1960 as a humble licensed premises in New Lambton, Wests had expanded into a veritable entertainment empire. No longer were they Wests Leagues. Now they were the Wests Group.

Their success was largely based on rescuing failed clubs and transforming them into successful establishments.

In the process, their long-serving board of directors had rarely wasted a cent.

One of their few regrettable investments occurred almost a decade earlier, when they agreed to underwrite the Knights, a deal that was eventually abandoned after increasingly heated disputes over who was liable for what. That episode still rankled.

Wests remained involved as a sponsor of the Knights, providing the club with a training and administration base at Mayfield. But when NRL officials initially inquired if Wests were interested in owning the Knights, the response was a take-it-or-leave it ambit claim.

Wests would consider taking the Knights over, but only on their terms.

It is understood they offered the NRL one dollar for the Newcastle franchise. In return for that, they would receive not only the football club, but also the remaining $5.1 million of Tinkler's bank guarantee and a guaranteed safety net, by which the NRL would foot the bill for any losses incurred over the next few years.

The NRL figured they had nothing to lose by exploring other options. They saw the Knights as a potentially valuable asset and resolved to manage the club for an interim period, in the hope a new owner would eventually emerge.

Two years later the NRL's chief financial officer, Tony Crawford, put the franchise out to tender, expecting Wests would make a bid. He was wrong. Wests continued to play hard-to-get, and of the various individuals and syndicates who did express interest, none were seen as suitable.

The NRL were now facing a dilemma. Owning the Knights, and the Gold Coast Titans, was becoming a financial drain. It couldn't continue forever.

Early in 2017, Crawford travelled to Newcastle to meet with Wests CEO Phil Gardner, and laid his metaphorical cards on the table.

Crawford explained that the NRL's budget was not unlimited, and if the Knights were still being bankrolled by the governing body in 12 months, relocating the franchise to Brisbane was a genuine possibility.

Wests had been identified as not just the best option for the Knights, but the only option.

At no stage did the NRL seriously consider a much-publicised community-ownership model, labelled "Our Knights One Chance", which proposed raising $20 million in start-up capital by selling 40,000 shares at $500 apiece.

After considering Crawford's sales pitch, Gardner shook his hand and promised to take it to his board.

Crawford, however, was well aware Wests were opposed to paying a multi-million dollar franchise fee.

Instead he dangled some bait he hoped would interest them. If Wests would contribute $10 million towards building a rugby league centre of excellence, the state government would match that with a dollar-for-dollar grant.

In other words, they would receive a $20 million asset - a piece of infrastructure that would serve Newcastle for decades - at half-price.

There were two catches. First, the grants were available only to NRL clubs and, second, the cut-off date for applications was in May. That meant Wests had to make decision promptly.

Complex negotiations continued before both parties struck a deal. Wests agreed to stump up the $10 million, effectively their down payment to own the Knights.

They refused to pay out liabilities incurred since Tinkler's demise, but agreed to accept any costs arising over the course of 2017. And they sought an indemnity from any law suits arising from former players who had suffered concussion, namely James McManus.

They then put their proposal to Wests members for endorsement, and were delighted when a plebiscite of 13,365 patrons returned a 93 per cent approval rating. After a transitional joint-ownership period, Wests would take full control of the Knights on November 1.

"We feel that we are handing the club back to the people of Newcastle," NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg said. "I am confident that the Knights will become the powerhouse in our game that they should be under their new ownership."

Gardner described the support Wests had received as "overwhelming, and humbling".

"The people of Newcastle have spoken,'' he said. "They want the club to be owned and operated locally and we will deliver their wishes ... we think this is an ideal time to be taking ownership of the club."

Unlike Tinkler, who went from billionaire to bankrupt in less than five years, Wests are not in the habit of squandering money. With almost $231 million in net assets and having made $23 million profit in 2016 alone, they appear more than capable of providing the financial stability the Knights have craved since inception.

The focus instead returned to game-day performances and whether Nathan Brown's young tyros could deliver the success their fans crave.

The addition of Kalyn Ponga (North Queensland), Brisbane duo Herman Ese'ese and Tautau Moga, and Connor Watson and Aidan Guerra from the Roosters - and the prospect of more signings - raised hopes that Newcastle would be big improvers in 2018.

"They're building, the Knights,'' Andrew Johns said on the Sunday Footy Show. "The players they've bought next year with a bit of class, another off-season, I think next year they'll be around semi-final area, around the eight."

Speaking after the season-ending loss to Cronulla, Knights coach Nathan Brown predicted his team would take "great strides" during his third year at the helm.

"To get over 20,000 [spectators], when you're playing for your third consecutive spoon ... to turn up like that is unbelievable,'' Brown said.

"And that's why now, with Wests taking over and the supporter base, the club's got big scope to become a powerful club, because you have got a fan base that will turn up under those circumstances.

"And with Wests, you have a powerful organisation. With the recruits we've got coming and the age of our squad and the growth they should make, we should be all excited about the coming years for the Knights."

Like Brown, Newcastle co-captain Jamie Buhrer, a 2011 premiership winner with Manly, was also adamant the team he joined in the 2017 pre-season were heading in the right direction.

"Getting a wooden spoon, you wouldn't think there'd be too much optimism, I suppose," Buhrer said.

"But from my standpoint, and a lot of the other boys, to see where the club has gone from November last year, when I got here, to where we sit now, I can say with confidence that if we had another five or six games left in the season, I don't think we'd get the wooden spoon.

"That's the upward trajectory I think the club is going in."

Others offered more cautious predictions about Newcastle's future prospects. Former Knights coach Wayne Bennett said the loss of Dane Gagai, who signed a four-year deal with South Sydney, was a concern.

"None of us are perfect, but Newcastle's not going to solve their problems by bringing a new coach in,'' Bennett said after his team's round-19 win against the Knights.

"... if Nathan [Brown] stays at it, they [the Knights] stay at it, get a few more players in the club and don't lose any more of their quality players, then that's the best chance they've got of turning it around. They can't turn it around any other way."

Penrith supremo Phil Gould, no stranger to a rebuilding operation, told Channel Nine that Newcastle fans would need to be patient.

"Everyone knows the Newcastle Knights are on a long-term plan,'' Gould said. "Personally, I think it's going to take them eight to 10 years to get back to being competitive in this competition. It's a long, hard, painstaking journey."

In his weekly Newcastle Herald column, Knights Hall of Famer Tony Butterfield produced a typically no-nonsense appraisal.

"In order to heal properly, before you can truly grow, one must admit to themselves the ugly truth,'' Butterfield wrote.

"Based on wins and losses, the Knights are the worst team in the comp.

"Harsh? Confronting? Three years running, it's the reality. Talk about a school of hard knocks.

"One hopes those players who remain remember well the sacrifices and lessons learned. Now, the recovery and revival can begin."

The final word should go to the man who, the best part of 40 years ago, sat down to a long lunch with Leigh Maughan and Gerry Edser that would leave a legacy beyond their wildest dreams.

Michael Hill was so appreciative of the Wests takeover that he wrote a letter to Phil Gardner, congratulating him and his board and wishing them well.

Asked to reflect on the three-decade existence of the club he helped create, Hill said it was encapsulated in one day: September 3, 2017. The day 20,535 Novocastrians spun through the turnstiles despite knowing their team were 80 minutes away from their third straight wooden spoon.

"I think the 30 years of the Knights is best summed up by 20,000-plus people turning up for the last game," Hill said.

"Nothing better illustrates, for me, the effect the football team has had on the community.

"Those fans weren't turning up in expectation of a win. They were playing last year's premiers.

"In the last 30 years, nothing has absorbed the community's interest more, and it was exemplified by that game. The Newcastle Knights have become an integral part of the community."

God willing, they will continue to be so for many generations to come.

Hard Yards: The Story of the Newcastle Knights. Available to purchase from theherald.mybigcommerce.com/books/ $19.95