After the June international window finished last weekend, Super rugby will come back under the spotlight this weekend.
The Highlanders host the Chiefs in a match the home side must win to have any hope of making the playoffs.
Joseph and his squad are fully aware of the importance of the game, and plenty of home support would undoubtedly lift the team.
"We need as many people there as possible. We are playing a very good team and the boys need as much help as they can get" he said.
"The guys really do get a lift from having a big crowd there that really gets in behind them.
"I know last year when we got some small crowds at Carisbrook at the end of the season that had an impact on us," Joseph said.
Last season, with playoffs still in the offering, crowds of about 5000 turned up to see the Highlanders take on the Lions and Force.
The side lost both of these games to drop out of the playoff hunt.
With university holidays, the Zoo end of the ground would not be open.
About 13,000 tickets had already been sold by late yesterday.
The Highlanders were to welcome back their internationals today and get out on to the training paddock.
Ben Smith bruised a leg in the early stages of Saturday night's test against Ireland but Joseph expected him to be fine.
James Haskell and Siale Piutai were also due back from test duty along with the side's six All Blacks. The side had no injury worries.
No Highlanders played club rugby in the weekend as the side had a reasonably heavy training workload last week.
"We've worked hard physically over the last two weeks so it was good to get guys to freshen up and have them ready for this week.
"We've been training for this game for the past six to seven months not just the past couple of weeks.
"It is a crunch game for us and as a player you want to get up for it and play against them."
Joseph said the side wanted to train more at Forsyth Barr Stadium but could only get on the covered turf for a run the day before the match.
Chiefs playmaker Aaron Cruden was under a injury cloud after leaving the test match on Saturday night with a sore Achilles.
He was due to have the injury scanned late yesterday but a decision on his availability will most probably not be made until tomorrow.
If Cruden does not show he is likely to be replaced by Aaron Horrell, with Robbie Robinson coming in at fullback.
The Highlanders beat the Chiefs 23-19 in Hamilton in the first round of the season, way back in late February.
