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Newcastle coach Wayne Bennett wants to deliver on Nathan Tinkler's dreams for the NRL club, but has warned fans not to expect instant success.

Wayne Bennett has made it clear he wants to deliver on Nathan Tinkler's Newcastle dream, but the seven-time NRL premiership winner refuses to put a time limit on its arrival.

The mining magnate has made it his mission to use a seemingly bottomless bank account to transform the Knights into a force the envy of their rivals ever since assuming ownership of the club.

At the top of Tinkler's wishlist is a third premiership for a club that tasted success in 1997 and 2001.

Speaking after Tuesday's first training session with the Knights, Bennett said he had bought into Tinkler's vision, but warned fans not to expect instant success.

"(Tinkler) has got big dreams, and I like his dreams. I just hope we can get it done for him," Bennett, who signed a four-year deal with the club, said.

"Realistically a premiership may not be forthcoming in the near future.

"More importantly we just want to build something that will provide them with long-term success.

"... there's a great opportunity to build something pretty special."

Bennett's arrival at the club has led to some bookmakers installing the Knights as favourites for next year's premiership.

That move no doubt flows on from his immediate success at St George Illawarra, having guided the joint-venture to the minor premiership in his first season there before ending the Dragons' 31-year premiership drought the next.

But Bennett warned it may not be as simple a project at the Knights.

"We've got a plan for here. It won't be in fruition the first 12 months," he said.

"The first 12 months will just be to make us the best footy team we can (be) and not go too quick. Because you can get lost in all that."

Bennett is well accustomed to coping with expectations, and said he'd been dealing with them since he was a young man.

That experience will come in handy at Newcastle, with former skipper Paul Harragon saying the sky was the limit for the club's future.

"We want excellence," Harragon said.

"Newcastle's always been a town that's been renowned for battling away. Tough, resilient.

"We want to keep all those things but the sky is the limit. We're not worried about premierships, but we want to be the best."

Meanwhile, Bennett confirmed that Australian representative Darius Boyd, who followed Bennett from the Dragons to Newcastle, would play fullback - forcing captain Kurt Gidley into a playmaking role.

"He can play halfback, five-eighth and hooker," Bennett said of Gidley.

"He's destined for one of those I'd think."