Newcastle Knights halfback Mitchell Pearce said his new side's dream start to the Telstra Premiership could create an interesting scene when they visit Allianz Stadium on Sunday to take on his former club.
Pearce cheekily suggested Knights fans may end up outnumbering Sydney Roosters fans at the Bondi club's home fixture.
Speaking after his side's 30-28 win over the Canberra Raiders, Pearce's attention had already turned to the match against the Tricolours.
"It's exciting [playing the Roosters], it will be funny playing against some of my best mates who I have known for a long time," Pearce said.
"I think it's good for the game, there's been plenty of movement this year and obviously we've got heaps of [former] Roosters players, so the build-up will be good and I'm looking forward to the game.
"Hopefully it will be a big crowd, I'm sure we'll get plenty of Knights fans to come down, we seem to get more than the Roosters fans."
Knights coach Nathan Brown was happy with the win but said there were areas where his side needed to improve.
Match Highlights: Raiders v Knights - Round 2; 2018
The come-from-behind victory came despite the Knights having less ball and being defensively below par.
Thirty-eight missed tackles and 20 ineffective tackles gave the Raiders every chance to put the game away well before Sione Mata'utia's late heroics.
"There are some key areas of the game we need to do better at, but I think it was a 7-1 penalty count to Canberra in Canberra," Brown said.
Match: Raiders v Knights
Round 2 -
home Team
Raiders
12th Position
away Team
Knights
5th Position
Venue: GIO Stadium, Canberra
"I'm not saying the penalties weren't deserved, our discipline is an area of the game we need to improve this week."
From nine club debutants in round one to sitting on four competition points after two rounds, Brown said side's fortunes look bright.
"Those little wins they build belief, trust and confidence, and to start off the year two from two. We beat a very dangerous football team today [Sunday] with the amount of possession and penalties against us.
"Canberra won't lose many games down here if they get a run of play, so I feel we can be satisfied with our effort, but we need to improve on some areas if we want to keep picking up some wins."
Brown confirmed forward Mitch Barnett suffered a concussion and will have to go through the HIA protocol this week in order to be passed fit for the clash with the Roosters.
