The mercury was hovering around 12 degrees when Frank Valkai was dropped off by a mate at WIN Entertainment Centre at 1.15am yesterday.
There were a few hoons doing laps on the road and the occasional passing police car, but Mr Valkai was more than happy to be alone, especially because it meant he was first in line for NRL grand final tickets.
The October 4 game at ANZ Stadium in Sydney must be one of the few events for which people are willing to fork out money for tickets without even knowing what the final line-up will be.
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TRY HARD BLOG: Will the Bulldogs get their fairytale ending?But many, if not all, of the Illawarra fans lining up for tickets were counting on the top-of-the-ladder Dragons making it through.
For ticketed NRL club members, 14,000 tickets, ranging in price from $55 to $165 for adults, were released yesterday ahead of going on sale to the public on September 29.
Mr Valkai, 36, of Balgownie, first attended a final at 18 and has been to more than a dozen.
He was happy to brave the cold and pass the time listening to music until a second person arrived about 21/2 hours later.
"I just enjoy the atmosphere of the grand final and with the Dragons going well at the moment, they are up there, then hopefully the Illawarra team can make the grand final," Mr Valkai said.
"It will be nice to be in a good spot to watch that - that's why I got out here to get some good seats."
The stadium can hold about 83,500 people and among them on grand final day will be Dragons die-hard Leanne Hicks, who has attended the team's every home game and bought tickets yesterday.
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