Mitch Barnett set for first game back in Newcastle as a Warrior

He just hopes they won't boo him on Sunday, when he returns to McDonald Jones Stadium for the first time in Warriors colours.

"At the end of the day, they're passionate fans," Barnett said of the Novocastrian faithful.

"But I still get messages from some of their diehard fans on social media, saying they still support me and like the way I play.

"I'd like to think I gave everything when I was at that club and left on good terms.

"I guess if they boo me, they boo me. But hopefully we get the result and that'll put a smile on my face."

Barnett's hopes of a fitting farewell were scuppered in 2022, when after signing a three-year deal with the Warriors, a broken thumb ruled the flint-hard forward out of Newcastle's final four games of the season.

Last season he was sidelined with a neck injury when the Warriors visited Newcastle in round six, so he has not set foot on his former home ground in almost 21 months.

"It'll be different coming out of the sheds at the other end," the former Wingham Tigers junior said.

"But look, I still consider Newcastle my home. Most of my family and friends all live around there, so it'll be nice to play in front of a few familiar faces.

"It'll be a little bit different for me, but I'll still have the same job to do."

Since crossing the "ditch", Barnett has racked up three wins against in the Knights, including a 40-10 triumph in last year's semi-finals that ended his old club's campaign.

But the 30-year-old has no interest in claiming bragging rights at the expense of his ex-teammates, out of professional respect.

"It's footy at the end of the day," he said.

"We've got a job to do, and whatever the result it, we catch up with each other after the game. Whether it's them or me, we're all doing the best we can to get a win for our teams."

In particular, Barnett is close to Newcastle's Saifiti twins, Daniel and Jacob, who he describes as his friends "for life".

In the off-season, he was a groomsman at Jacob's wedding and texted the NSW Origin prop to inquire about his health after he suffered a foot injury in last week's win against the Dolphins.

"I sent Jacob a text asking how he was, because he obviously didn't finish the game last week," Barnett said.

"I just said: 'I hope you're OK.'

"We talk pretty regularly anyway. We don't go revving each other up before games.

"We just keep our footy and our friendship separate, is probably the best way to put it."

Jacob has made a rapid recovery, and after training on Thursday is considered a chance of leading Newcastle's pack into battle against the Warriors.

"I'll leave that up to him," Barnett said. "I'll rock up there, and if he runs out there, he runs out there.

"But if not, there'll be a bloke who looks just like him who runs out instead."

After two losses and a draw from their past three matches, the Warriors have slipped down the ladder and sit just one rung and one competition point above the Knights, in 12th and 13th positions respectively.

"We've had to deal with a few injuries, but it's still no excuse for our performances.

"We've been losing little moments, and individual errors have been costing us dearly.

"We really need to tidy that up, because going to Newcastle, we know they're not going to give us anything."

Playing up front alongside the imposing Addin Fonua-Blake, Barnett has not missed a game this season, a remarkable effort after he underwent off-season surgery to fuse a neck vertebrae for the second time.

"I had to get it done again, the exact same surgery," he said.

"The original fusion didn't fully fuse. There was still a bit of movement in my neck, which was creating a lot of pain.

"So I had it re-done in October and, whatever he did, at this stage it seems to have worked.

"I'm reasonably pain-free and happy with how I'm playing at the moment."

He admitted that he came "pretty close" to retiring last year, when he was sidelined mid-season.

"We did have those conversations, that retiring might be the best thing for me at that stage of my life," he said.

"But I spoke to a lot of surgeons and got a lot of honest opinions, and eventually I was reassured that I was right to keep going.

"That was all I needed to hear, because I've still got a lot of things I'd like to achieve in the game."

He said he grew in confidence during the pre-season when his neck was coping with full-contact sessions at training.

"It's also a bit of my make-up, I suppose, because I've also been known to be pretty stubborn," he said.

"That could also be part of it."