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For Greg Reid, watching the Cronulla Sharks win Sunday’s NRL grand final was “better than Christmas”.
The Central West resident has followed the Sharks since he was five years old, and said watching the win 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.”
It was only fitting 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 had all the ball in the opening 40 minutes and should have at least crossed twice such was their dominance, however the Melbourne defence withstood the onslaught to head into the break trailing by just eight points.
“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.”
That 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, after being in the headlines for all the wrong reasons for the past month, Fifita created history when he crashed his way over from close range to claim victory for his side.
It wasn't without an almighty, with Melbourne almost going 100 metres in the final set to snatch victory, only for Cronulla to hold strong and sing Up, Up Cronulla for the first time as premiership winners.
“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.
“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.”