It's been a quarter of a century but Canberra icon Ricky Stuart has finally taken the Raiders back to the NRL grand final.
Ricky Stuart. Photo: Photosport
Stuart was the halfback when the Green Machine last won the premiership against Canterbury in 1994 and on Friday night, now as their coach, the grand final drought ended.
Canberra took down South Sydney to book their place in the decider next Sunday against Melbourne or Sydney Roosters at ANZ Stadium.
It marks an incredible turnaround for the Raiders who haven't played finals since 2016, and for Stuart who hadn't won a preliminary final as a coach since 2004.
"It hasn't been just this year, it's been years of hard work and disappointments and a lot of lows to get the opportunity of playing in a grand final," Stuart said.
"I couldn't be more proud of those blokes in that change room, they've got the opportunity to create a bit of their own history.
"We're only halfway there, we've got another game to play and by no means we'll be looking too far ahead.
"We've got a week of preparation and we're going to be playing a very classy football team, Melbourne or Roosters."
Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Stuart won three premierships with the Raiders between 1989 and 1994 and said he wanted his players to savour the moments leading into the decider.
"I want the players to enjoy this week, to embrace the hype and the understanding of the celebrations of being in a grand final," Stuart said.
"If you want to be a big-time player, you've got to handle that hype.
"The guys who are consistently good in semi-finals and those kinds of arenas, they embrace those kinds of arenas."
Canberra beat Souths in front of a record crowd at GIO Stadium and Stuart backed plenty of the Green Machine faithful to make the trip up the Hume Highway next week.
"I don't say it lightly that there's a wonderful relationship between the Canberra Raiders and the community," he said.
"We're very much a community-driven club and they repaid us tonight, they really helped us get over the line tonight."
- AAP