HE won his first premiership as a Warrior, but as Matt Knight looks to mark his final game as a CSU Mungoe with another title, it's a group of Warriors who stand in his way.
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As a Bourke native, Knight got his first taste of football with the Warriors at under 12s level.
It's a sport he stuck with and when arriving at CSU to study in 2017, he signed up to join the ranks of the Mungoes.
Five years on, he's about to play in his fifth grand final for the Mungoes when he runs out against the Orange United Warriors on Saturday. He's hoping it's a farewell match he can mark with what would be a second premiership with the club, having previously won one in 2019.
"It was nice to have those two first grand finals when I first joined the club then to finally get the win [in 2019] after a couple of losses. It was really nice to win with boys you've been with all year, they pretty much become like brothers because they're the people you knew from the get go," Knight said.
"I made a couple of grand finals before I joined CSU, I won one with Bourke and then I played with Nyngan in under 18s and we made the grand final and lost that one.
"So I'm probably two out of seven in my life-time which is not a great strike record."
Naturally improving that strike record a fraction is the goal on Saturday and as a member of CSU's front row, Knight knows he's in for a real battle against the bigger Warriors pack.
He'd expect nothing less after what happened in the 28-16 major semi-final win over the Warriors.
"For that first 15 minutes I don't think I've played a tougher football team, run after run they just threw the whole weight of themselves at it," he said.
"But then I feel as though we dug deep and our fitness levels showed towards the end of the half when we were not the stronger team, but the more impactful team.
"Absolutely it's a tough job, especially against the Warriors because their forward pack is probably the biggest in the whole competition. It's always a tough slug through the guts, we are one of the smallest packs, but it's up to us really to lay that platform."
How the Mungoes stand up to the pressure the Warriors big men will apply will certainly be a critical factor in the decider.
The Warriors will carry the confidence that came with beating Portland 22-18 in last Saturday's preliminary final and the enthusiasm of reaching a grand final for the first time.
But what gives Knight faith his side can get the job done is the talent they have spread across their entire squad. It's talent which has helped them win their past six games.
"I think this year we're not reliant on one or two players whereas in the past we've had really, really good individual players who, when the time was needed, they stepped up," he said.
"This year I feel as if the whole team is really solid across the board and our bench players, you are losing no quality when they come on.
"I feel as though our training sessions haven't dropped, we know our job and to be in the grand final has been the end goal all year, so to be there in it has been a driving force."
The grand final at Diggings Oval kicks off at 3pm.
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