LOOKING for Illawarra footy's feel-good story of the year? Stop. Norths Bulldogs have it - game, set, match.
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And boy do they deserve it after a season in which senseless vandalism to Jim Allen Oval left the Bullpups homeless, not once, but twice.
It's something one of the smaller battling clubs, in a constant fight to keep its players and teams, can ill-afford but it's four teams - and a merged side with Helensburgh - battled through to see 2019 out.
They'll get the ultimate reward come NRL grand final day, with select Bullpups given the extremely rare honour of presenting this year's champions with their premiership rings.
Completely out of the blue, club president Kellie Favelle admitted the news brought a tear to her eye.
"It's been one of the hardest seasons that we've had, we've had the club ground vandalised twice, it's just been one thing after another," Favelle said.
"For all the kids and parents who've stuck with us and the kids who've gone out and played hard games when they haven't had enough players and things like that, it's really nice to have this as a reward.
"To tell them and see all the smiles on their faces was a really nice feeling after struggling all year. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I'm so happy for them."
It's a sweetener to a tough year and Favelle said if there is a silver lining to the dramas, and the yearly battle to retain numbers, it's the community spirit that's kept the club afloat.
"Our club's been around a long time, we were one of the Illawarra's founding clubs, so there's been a lot of ups and downs over the years," she said.
"We had a lot of problems with people leaving for bigger clubs which a lot of smaller clubs tend to have. As a small club we value every single child and believe every child should have a fair go.
"They can't all be superstars but every child in a small club is valued and important to their team and the club.
"That's part of being in a small community and the community always rallies around us and gets things done. To finish off like this is just mind-blowing for everybody."