Saturday, February 10, 2018.
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It is a day when another moment in history is created at Wollongong’s WIN Stadium.
It is a day when the Illawarra hosts the first ever UK Super League in the southern hemisphere.
The day a league of nations unite.
For those going along to watch history be created tonight, as you walk into the ground, a newly founded and placed plaque at the entrance to the ground will welcome you.
It recognises WIN Stadium’s newest place in history.
That plaque will live at Wollongong’s stadium by the sea, now and forever more.
For us locals, it is a moment in time. Without direct allegiances to either club, the result will be secondary to the experience.
To the many, many people who have made the journey to the other side of the world to support their beloved club, this game matters a great deal.
It’s a clash against an arch rival with premiership points up for grabs.
And it’s a match where your club will be under the watchful eyes of the world with the game being telecast around the globe into places like the United Kingdom, America and Canada.
People attending the Brett Kenny fundraiser at the City Beach Function Centre on Friday got a small glimpse of the sort of passion that will be on display.
At the end of the lunch fans from the two clubs broke out in their club songs.
The strong Hull legion in attendance nearly ripped the roof off the function centre with their impassioned chorus.
It was hair-rising, spine-tingling stuff.
You can view it on our Facebook or Instagram page.
You could picture thousands of fans on the famous WIN Stadium Hill on Saturday night, sun baked and rehydrated as they belt it out en masse.
That in itself will be an experience worth seeing.
This has been a genuine community effort to make this across-continent clash become a reality.
We can take a lot of pride that the Illawarra is able to bring events such as this to life and both Hull and Wigan have been equally amazed and thankful for the reception they have received from this community.
We can take great pride from this as a city and a region.
Get along and be a part of history in the making.