The Central West resident has followed the Sharks since he was five years old.

He said watching the Sharks claim the first premiership in their 50-year history was like nothing he had ever felt before.

“They were the first team I saw on TV and David Peachey was my idol, being a young part-Aboriginal boy from the country,” Mr Reid said.

“I’ve never felt anything like tonight when they won that game.”

The Sharks nabbed the first try of the night with somewhat of a blast from the past, with Paul Gallen and Ben Barba perfectly executing a scrum play to give their side an 8-0 lead after 22 minutes.

Cronulla enjoyed 60 per cent of the possession in the opening 40 minutes and should have at least crossed twice such was their dominance.

But the Melbourne defence withstood the onslaught – captain Cameron Smith racked up 37 tackles in the first half alone – to head into the break trailing by just eight points.

Crounlla’s dominance continued in the second half, but against the run of play the Storm struck back to stun the Sharks when Jesse Bromwich spun his way to the line to reduce the deficit to two with 29 minutes remaining.

The Storm somehow took the lead soon after through Will Chambers, leaving Cronulla 15 minutes to come back from a 12-8 deficit.

But then Andrew Fifita crashed his way over from close range to claim victory for his side.

It wasn't without an almighty effort, with Melbourne almost going 100 metres in the final set to snatch victory.

It went down to the final seconds, but when Storm winger Marika Koroibete was tackled after the siren the crowd at ANZ Stadium exploded with relief.

“The last 30 seconds of that game were the most nerve-wracking 30 seconds of all for Sharks players, fans and former players,” Mr Reid said, adding tattoo parlours could expect a lot of business in the coming weeks from Sharks fans wanting to the memorialise the occasion.

“To see players who you've watched for years and years like Paul Gallen stand up and win that match is a dream come true.

“A lot of Sharks fans never got to see that moment and I'm proud as punch to know that I was alive to see them do it.”