What I'd be doing is researching what the average Newcastle 1st grade player got paid a season in the clubs' formative years. Then share that with the team, let it sink in that those guys were (virtually) all part-timers who also worked a regular job. Get some of those "old boys" in to share stories about the culture of those early teams and how it manifested on the field (like that story Matty Johns told about the player with the shattered testicle who stayed in the defending line the full set). Get, say:
Joey Johns
The Chief
Tony Butterfield
Mark Sargent
Danny Buderus
Billy Peden
Have players like that on a rotating roster, and through the season they take it in turns to spend a week with the team- at training, speaking with them after training, before the game etc. talking about the culture that was instilled in the team, sharing stories from their playing days that reflect that culture, explaining how and why the home ground was a fortress etc. Because along with St George, I can't think of another team in the NRL who appear to have strayed further from the original values that once made them a successful and relevant club.
