For many diehard South Sydney Rabbitohs fans, they had to wait 43 years between the clubs last two grand final appearances, but things have come a long way since then.
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Local Souths fans Richard Tegart, Bob Berry and John Walkom have supported the Rabbitohs through thick and thin with the club has enjoying a strong decade of success, including a 2014 premiership.
For Mr Berry, Sunday night's game against the Penrith Panthers will be a bittersweet moment for the local business owner.
"I've seen 13 [grand finals] until now and I've seen them win 10," he said.
"This will be the first grand final Souths have played in since 1949 that I haven't [been at in person].
"I saw the first one 1949 when we were beaten by St George."
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When both sides played each other back in May this year here in Dubbo, with Penrith thumping the Bunnies 56-12, Mr Berry was not sure whether Souths could make the final match of the season.
"There wasn't a person who walked out of Apex Oval in May who thought Penrith would play Souths in the grand final including Wayne Bennett," he said.
"But that's football.
"I've seen it many times and I've seen Souths bash a few up."
For Mr Walkom, his South Sydney journey started back in the 1960s watching a rare match on television.
"The neighbour next door had a TV and we went in to watch the grand final," he said.
"It was Souths against Balmain and that's where I started to follow the Rabbitohs.
"Then we had the long drought of nothing and you just stuck with them.
"People would jump off."
South Sydney were kicked out of the NRL in the late 1990s and both Mr Berry and Walkom marched with over 80,000 people to show their support for one of the oldest clubs in the game.
"I remember being in Sydney with the family when they had the march on after they got kicked out of the competition," he said.
"80,000 people turned up and we joined the march.
"You just had to be there to understand and it wasn't just people from South Sydney."
Should Souths win on Sunday night, it will be their 22nd premiership and second since 1972.
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