Knights CEO Phil Gardner has told the Newcastle Herald the club will also be offering free face masks to fans on the day to wear at the game if they wish as a further deterrent.

Gardner says the unprecedented steps have been taken by the club in response to the public health and safety travel warnings that have been put in place by the NSW government.

"The NSW Premier and Chief Medical Officer are advising against non-essential travel this weekend and given the situation that is unfolding in Sydney and now up here with COVID, we believe it's the responsible thing to do to put the restrictions in place," Gardner said.

"It means tickets for Sunday's game won't be available for anyone who lives in Sydney other than essential Bulldogs personnel.

"It's unfortunate for our Sydney members who had planned on attending but the safety of the community is paramount here."

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Gardner said the ban will extend to all Bulldogs representatives and guests who are not deemed as essential to the running of the game.

"The bottom line is we want to do everything we possibly can to keep our standards as high as possible and ensure members and fans can keep coming to games this season," he said.

A crowd of between 6500 and 7000 is expected at the game.

Meanwhile, Knights coach Adam O'Brien has reminded his players of the importance of rewarding fans with a good performance against the Bulldogs.

O'Brien described the support last weekend for his team against South Sydney at Bankwest Stadium from a small band of fans as "next level" and is hoping a home crowd will raise the bar even higher on Sunday.

"Last weekend's effort from our fans was outstanding - next level," he said. "I'm told we had something like 300 down there for the Souths game but the noise they made, it sounded like 3000. You'd have sworn it was our home game.

"There were a lot more Souths fans there but it didn't sound like it. Our supporters were outstanding and I can't thank them enough. When the Newcastle chant rang out early and they kept it up, I just thought 'how good is this' and I can tell you the players were really appreciative. Hopefully, they will be even louder on Sunday and the boys can reward them."

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