Despite celebrating potentially the hardest NRL premiership of all time, it's been a tough slog for Melbourne Storm fans, with next Thursday's clash against South Sydney ending a 537-day drought for their supporters.
Storm fans will be quick to remember their semi-final drubbing of Parramatta, a 32-0 endeavor back on the 21st of September, 2019 - the last match that they'd be able to watch their side play in their own state for over 17 months.
Until next Thursday.
The club played their first two rounds in Sydney last year, with wins over Manly and Cronulla, before the COVID-19 lockdown shut down the competition. They'd manage two games at AAMI Park afterwards, without their faithful members in attendance, before relocating in the lead up to Round 6.
As the Willie Nelson song goes, 'on the road again, like a band of gypsies we go down the highway. We're the best of friends, insisting the world keep turning our way'. And while it all fell their way on field, they didn't wear that 'V' on their chest for no reason.
Many see the Round 1 match-up against the Rabbitohs as the first game of the post-Cameron Smith era, and the club's first opportunity to show off those new premiership rings. Brenko Lee is a premiership winner with the Melbourne Storm, and is yet to run out in front of a home crowd.
But it's a whole lot more than a mouth-watering clash.
As the scramble for tickets has begun, some fans are itching to get back into the stadium, like diehard fan Sally Gearing, who admitting it was tough not being able to watch the side go around last year - but she'll be in the AAMI Park grandstand when the team runs through that tunnel.
"Last year was hard, with the lockdown and the pandemic. For me, the worst part was not getting to go to live games after not missing a home match in 15 years," she said.
"To go the whole year without live sport really hurt, so the countdown is on to get back there. It's been 537 days in the making, bring it on".
Melbourne will be boosted by a Craig Bellamy statistic, who in his first 18 years of coaching the Storm has never lost a Round 1 clash. And especially with this season shaping to be Bellyache's last at the helm, it's not a stat he intends on giving up.
There's a host of hoodoos on display, Melbourne's last clash at AAMI was also against South Sydney, back in June last year, while Josh Mansour is expected to make his club debut, who's first and last game with Penrith was also against the Storm.
However, win, lose, or draw against South Sydney next Thursday night, the fans will simply be happy to be there to watch their team begin their premiership defence. To simply sit in those fluorescent green seats, watch the seagulls circle as a new era dawns on the Melbourne Storm.
Most rugby league fans have been waiting since the end of October for this clash, the return of rugby league to our screens. But that wait is nothing compared to that the Victorian faithful have endured, but fear not Storm fans, your day has nearly arrived.
