Paul White is a true Novocastrian and with that comes his passion and loyalty for the nib Newcastle Knights and all things red and blue.
But the 43-year-old father of five is fighting the biggest battle of his life, as he was recently given the tragic news of a terminal cancer diagnosis.
While things are tough for the Knights devout, it was a gesture by the Club that brought him to tears.
Paul and his family were invited to the Knights’ Round 3 clash with the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
“I’ve been a Knights supporter since the high school days when they first came to the competition,” said Paul.
“I grew up in the Paul Harragon, Joey Johns era or even the Michael Hagan era.”
The invitation included a special meeting with the coach and players at the captain’s run, a memory his family will be able to cherish for years to come.
“What the Knights were able to do for me, I can’t speak highly enough of the whole organisation, special mention to Nathan Brown he’s a real class act, Dane Gagai was fantastic, Trent (Hodkinson) the whole lot of them,” explained Paul.
“I got a real shock, my family got a shock to know this is how they treat people, I know I’ve got an illness but still, I couldn’t believe it, unbelievably fantastic.
“I had people come up from Melbourne and from Darwin as well and they all came down to experience this and they’re all from Newcastle originally so they’re Knights supporters which is really good.
“It was a real family affair, had uncles, my mum, they did make it really special, to allocate 14 tickets.”
Paul was also asked to do the coin toss before the match, a reprieve from his illness and for him, offering a moment of happiness.
“I met Sam Burgess, I'm not a fan of Souths but it’s always good to meet someone like that, he’s a really nice guy, I’m just sorry I couldn’t get the result for Trent (Hodkinson) when I flipped the coin,” said Paul.
The Newcastle supporter described it as a once in a lifetime opportunity which he will be forever grateful to the Club.
“My family will look back, probably I don’t know I am still fighting this disease so hopefully I’ll stick around for a lot longer but hopefully I can look back on this in time to come, my son, my four daughters, my wife and it will be fond memories,” Paul added.
