Newcastle Knights fans, in my opinion, are the most loyal and parochial in the NRL, and for the past six seasons they have continued to roll up in numbers most clubs can only envy to cheer for a team who have finished no higher than 11^th, and who collected three consecutive wooden spoons in the process.

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The Novocastrian faithful have stuck solid through thick and thin and endured performances that have been consistently underwhelming and at times downright embarrassing, not least the drubbings at Campbelltown and Penrith last last year, which I would suggest rate among the worst-ever performances in the club's history.

Yet now, at a time when those diehards are banned from entering stadiums and have no idea when they will next be able to attend a game, the Knights will never have a better chance to repay their staunch support.

This, of course, is no ordinary season. The coronavirus has already seen to that.

But for all this talk about whether the 2020 NRL campaign will have an asterisk alongside it, and if it will be as meaningful as every other year in the code's history, my response is to ask you to imagine a team celebrating with the premiership trophy on grand final day, with nothing but rows of vacant seats in the background.

That is an image that will live on for years and decades, quite possibly beyond the lifetime of any of the participants. An image that may one day rate alongside the iconic photo of mud-caked Arthur Summons and Norman Provan embracing after the 1963 decider.

This could well be remembered as the most famous grand final and season of all time, simply because it is so unique.

And that's what all teams will be playing for when the NRL resumes on May 28. A chance to etch their names in folklore as rugby league's bravest champions - the team who not only beat all their opponents, but the unprecedented challenges thrown at them during the pandemic that has changed life as we know it.

The process has already started.

The team who collect the ultimate prize this year might well be the one who best retained their focus, discipline and commitment during the six-week hiatus after the competition was suspended, and they were forced to train in isolation.

Make no mistake, there will have been players across the 16 clubs who took the easy option. Players who did the bare minimum to keep themselves in shape, who ate the wrong foods, and who will be a liability when the season resumes.

There might be players who reached the conclusion that they have been forced to take a pay cut and hence are under no obligation to produce the same level of effort.

There will be players who quickly grow frustrated and resentful about the strict biosecurity protocols the NRL has imposed, and whose motivation starts to waver.

There will be those who find the whole game-day experience of playing in empty stadiums a letdown, as was evidenced in round two, when some admitted their matches felt like an "opposed" training session, or that the lack of crowd meant the atmosphere was "flat".

There will be players who lose interest, especially after a couple of losses, and start inevitably looking towards next year, when hopefully normal service will resume.

And I can't help wondering if the teams most vulnerable will be those who have been there, won that, and allow a little complacency, or laissez faire, to creep into their mindset.

In any normal season, the premiership is usually won by the team who, on paper, have the best roster. Sometimes, as has been the case with the Sydney Roosters and Melbourne over the past three years, the champions have stood above their rivals from very early in proceedings.

I'm not convinced that will be the case this year, and instead suspect the whole disruption and distraction caused by the coronavirus has created a very level playing field.

This year's premiers could well be the team who are the hungriest for success, and with the most mental toughness to endure adversity and unforeseen circumstances.

All of which brings us back to the Knights.

Resilience has not been a word used to describe the men wearing red and blue for many, many years. Last season, after the thrashings by the Tigers (46-4) and Panthers (54-10), players admitted they "capitulated" under pressure.

Now basically the same group are facing a situation that will take them, and every other team, way outside their comfort zone.

Some might say it's not in my nature to be optimistic, but I'm confident the challenges they face in the months ahead will bring out the best in the Knights.

For starters, I look at their squad and believe they underachieved last season. They are a better team than that, and they should know it. Their collective disappointment and embarrassment should provide priceless motivational fuel that burns for a long time.

Some of their younger players have been in the NRL four or five seasons and never yet come close to a finals series. Surely they must be desperate to live that dream.

Moreover, I sense a real synergy between the players and new coach Adam O'Brien, who has been accustomed to success as an assistant at Melbourne and the Roosters. O'Brien's no-nonsense, no-excuses attitude strikes me as just what the Knights need.

Together they have a chance to do something truly special and inspire an entire community during a time of hardship.

The Knights owe their fans an enormous debt of gratitude. If the team can provide some hope and joy in the months ahead, I'm sure most would consider the ledger squared.