The background noise is more upbeat than what Knights coach Nathan Brown and his players could hear five weeks ago.
That gloomy soundtrack became deafening after a depleted Gold Coast Titans handed them a fifth straight loss, sparking speculation about Brown's future in Newcastle and self-doubt among a team tipped to be finals contenders.
Five straight wins since then, the most recent being a 38-12 rout of the Roosters in Newcastle last Friday night, and the dirge has been replaced by a fanfare.
For the first time in a long time the Knights are the talk of the town, but Brown is not tuning in.
"We feel great but it was only six weeks ago that Mitchell Pearce was the wrong choice as captain, I couldn't coach – and it's rugby league," Brown told the media after the Knights did a job on the defending premiers at McDonald Jones Stadium last Friday.
"It's an interesting game. It's the sport we're in. You've got to enjoy it, you've got to feel good about it, but not get carried away about it neither."
Match Highlights: Knights v Roosters
Elaborating on that theme at his weekly media conference in Newcastle on Monday, Brown said it was important for his players to remain centred no matter the circumstances or the headlines.
The Knights have climbed from last to fourth following victories over the Eels, Warriors, Bulldogs, Dragons and Roosters, and will bank another two points from a round 12 bye this weekend before taking on top two teams South Sydney and Melbourne.
"If we're not going to listen when it's going bad, we shouldn't listen when it's going too good neither. Obviously it's a fine balance, so it's a matter of getting the balance right," Brown said.
"We've got some good, experienced players now, so I would have thought those guys will know how to handle it and help the younger ones handle it."
Though he acknowledged the possibility of the bye halting the team's momentum, Brown believed there was more upside to having a break after road trips to Auckland, Brisbane and Mudgee in the past month and only a five-day break between their games against the Dragons and Roosters.
He said captain Mitchell Pearce needed a week off to rest a groin strain and other players, including Connor Watson (foot) and Edrick Lee (foot), would appreciate some time off to rest niggling injuries.
"We've done a lot of travel lately and more travel coming up," Brown said.
"Our next two games are on the road as well – we're off to Sydney [to play Souths] then Melbourne – so when you put it like that, a bit of a break to freshen up mentally is probably great.
"And like all sides, we've all got blokes carrying bumps and bruises now so for those blokes to get to freshen up and hopefully get back to somewhere near 100 per cent fitness … it's not a bad time [to have a bye] anyway."
Knights rise
Hooker Danny Levi will see a specialist in Sydney on Tuesday to discuss the results of scans on his left ankle, which he injured in the 13th minute of the game against the Roosters, but Brown said the in-form dummy-half was looking at spending some time on the sidelines.
"He's definitely going to be out for a period, it's just to what extent," Brown said.
"… If it's surgery, it will be a bit longer than if it's not surgery, so we don't really know at this stage."
Brown said he would wait until Kalyn Ponga (Queensland) and David Klemmer (NSW) return from the June 5 State of Origin series-opener in Brisbane before deciding whether they play against the Rabbitohs at ANZ Stadium 48 hours later.
"We haven't actually spoken to the players about it. We want them to go and play well for Origin," he said.
"We'll prepare as if they're not playing then we'll see what unfolds."