Australian rugby league has tall poppy syndrome. There, it has been said.

Sometimes in our little corner of the world we seem to forget our place or more the point our role, in promoting the greatest game of all. If it isn’t the National Rugby League it just doesn’t matter, or so we thought.

With no NRL last Sunday Leichhardt Oval was the place to be. The ground wasn’t packed by any stretch of the imagination but it certainly did have a semi-final feel and so it should. Sid Fogg buses hogged the tiny side streets; men in different coloured jerseys drank beer and swapped stories while rugby league royalty gratefully mixed into the crowd.

Canterbury captain James Graham and five-eight Josh Reynolds took a walk down passed the Keith Barnes Stand, premiership-winning coach Chris Anderson carried one of his grandkids to the canteen and Fox Sports’ Jimmy Smith joined hundreds of kids (some of them his own) on the hallowed turf of Leichhardt for a kick between VB NSW Cup clashes.

Des Hasler trudged, Trent Robinson smiled and big Paul Sironen showed off a cardigan he probably bought… at Lowes!

It wasn’t quite the NRL but it was everything good about the game we love and sometimes forget.

For this story, the results on-field didn’t matter.

Footy won.

In rugby league, there is always tomorrow.

That’s unless you’re in the grand final which the Wyong Roos and Newcastle Knights just so happen to be. On Sunday at Pirtek Stadium, the local rivals will clash for the crown as VB NSW Cup champions.

And so the stories continue.

On one side is Wyong.

Four years ago the Roos were playing in the local Newcastle A-Grade competition against the likes of Kurri Kurri and Cessnock. A VB NSW Cup grand final against the Knights at Pirtek Stadium may have been giggled at.

Then there is the veteran Clint Newton, a man who has played in front of 80,000 people in an NRL Grand Final.

“I have often been told by Jack Gibson and Ron Massey, who were close to my father, that Arthur Beetson went back and played reserve grade and did some good things there to help the next generation come through,” Newton told nrl.com.

“By no means am I putting myself in Arthur’s category but it is more about the impact you can have on the younger players and that’s incredibly important.”

What about George Ndaira?

This guy debuted for St George Illawarra way back in 2006 and was last sighted in the NRL five years ago. In 2014 he signed on as an assistant coach for the Knights. But these final three weeks of 2015 might be the moments he remembers most fondly. Ndaira has played a starring role for Newcastle in the finals series, starting for star halfback Jaelen Feeney two weeks ago against Penrith and then last weekend for Carlos Tuimavave against Mounties.

The story of the day could be Omar Slaimankhel whose parents once trekked by foot from their war-torn village in Afghanistan to Pakistan.

Or is it the battle of the halves?

You can’t buy groceries on potential forever and Tyler Cornish and Feeney know it.

Yep its games like these that set you apart.

Both these guys came out of the Under 20’s system and so did a bloke called Magnus Stromquist.

Maybe with a name like Magnus Stromquist he’s better suited as a villain in James Bond. What you can say is his rise to the top has not been as smooth as 007. In fact, Stromquist is yet to make it to the big dance.

Four years ago he was earmarked as one of the most promising young props going around.

On Sunday Stromquist goes up against a Knights pack that boasts Newton, Sam Mataora, young gun Lachlan Fitzgibbon, veteran Marvin Filipo and a 22-year-old named Damian Sironen.

Sironen joined Newcastle a single day before the June 30 deadline from Tweed Heads and has since been the cornerstone of the Knights pack.

The stories go on and on.

At the end of the day, the footy will do the talking.

Last word to Clint Newton.

“They’re obviously favourites. We understand that and we accept it but it’s a two-horse race at the end of the day.”

@curtiswoodward1

 
Catch Curtis as part of the Steele Sports team this Sunday as part of their NSWRL grand final coverage bringing you VB NSW Cup, Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield live on radiohub.com.au.