In his mid-teens, Prior had to overcome the disappointment of missing out on junior representative teams, before finally earning his shot in the Dragons development system.

Then in 2013, the St George Illawarra premiership player became a cast off, his NRL future under threat until being offered a lifeline up the road at Cronulla.

Prior arrived at Shark Park as his teammates were facing the blowtorch of ASADA from Stephen Dank’s time at the club.

But for any fairytale sentiment of the Sharks chasing a first ever title, Prior’s grand final story is one of sheer perseverance.

Now 29, Prior played the game of his life when the Sharks upstaged the Raiders in Canberra on the way to Sunday’s decider. 

Former Thirroul coach Phil Ostwald has known Prior since the under sixes.

Ostwald’s son Danny played with Prior throughout their junior years and on Sunday, he will be in the stands at ANZ Stadium.

“Danny’s a Melbourne fan, so it’s a bit of a win-win for him, because if the Sharks win he’ll be happy for Matt,” Ostwald said.

“But we’re all pretty excited for Matty, he’s just one of those kids who was always a pleasure to coach.

“He’s pretty quiet, but he works hard and deserves all the rewards he gets. His career wasn’t just handed to him on a platter, he wasn’t always picked in the rep teams and probably wondered if he had a future in footy.”

After starting his career as a centre or second-rower, Prior has turned his footwork and agility into one of the Sharks’ biggest assets in the front row.

In the 16-14 win over the Raiders to send the Sharks into the preliminary final, Prior ran for 233 metres, made 36 tackles and scored a try in a man-of-the-match effort.

His herculean 73-minute effort was backed up with 174 metres carried and 24 tackles, in 46 minutes of game time, in the win over North Queensland to qualify for the Storm title showdown.

Ostwald declared Prior deserves consideration for Australia’s Four Nations campaign in England.

“They’re the two best teams and Matt has been one of the Sharks’ best all year,” he said.

“After the Canberra game they were talking about it as one of the best front row performances in a finals series.”

Ostwald expects Prior to handle the occasion on Sunday, after his experience of claiming the 2010 crown with the Dragons.

“There aren’t many who get another chance to win one and it’s been a pretty long road for him to be back here,” Ostwald said.