Nailed it. Gary Belcher loved the reunion. Despite having a cold. The hall of fame dinner, then the Forever Green old boys day. He loved it all.
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Now he's looking forward to watching his beloved Canberra Raiders take on the Penrith Panthers. The trip to the foot of the mountains one he always found tough as a player.
But one thing he didn't realise? How good Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad was going to be.
While not quite in the uppermost echelon of fullbacks. Your Tedescos and RTS's. He's certainly up there in the NRL.
Not hard to see why. The hard-running of the top-knotted Kiwi has been a revelation.
Averaging almost 177 run metres per game. His stats alone place him at the top end of custodians.
But he arrived in Canberra relatively unknown. Just seven NRL games under his belt. And none of those last year. No great expectations.
"I didn't realise, I think everyone's the same, [Raiders coach Ricky Stuart] said he didn't realise what they got when they brought him over," Belcher said.
"I've been surprised how good he is, pleasantly surprised.
"We've got some pretty special [fullbacks] in Tuivasa-Sheck, Tedesco, Trbojevic. I'm not going to say he's with them just yet, but he's certainly holding his own."
But CNK's influence goes beyond just his own performance. It's allowed his predecessor to settle into a new role.
A settling that's been so good it's seen Jack Wighton settle into an Origin jersey as a result.
Nicoll-Klokstad's taken his chance. Helping Wighton do things by five-eighths.
"He's just made Jack Wighton's transition to five-eighth a lot simpler for Ricky in that there's no tossing [up] whether he should put Jack back at the back because they were having trouble there," Belcher said.
"It was just leave him at five-eighth, let his game develop because the fullback's got everything covered. He's doing well."
It's not the first time Belcher's seen a successful five-eighth switch at the Green Machine.
During his time in lime green, he saw Laurie Daley move from the centres to the No.6 jersey.
Now Wighton's made a similar switch. It still needs a bit of polish, but he's shone nonetheless.
"Very impressed. He's still a work in progress. I love his defence. He hits the line hard," Belcher said.
"He's working on his passing game. That's getting better. He's working on his kicking game. That's good and bad.
"He's still kicking the odd one out on the full. That doesn't help. That's the risk you take sometimes. You don't want to be doing too much of that in big games.
"I love the way Jack plays. He's a bloke you want to play beside."
Having just enjoyed a trip back in time, talking all things '89, it'd be easy for Belcher to be in the premiership mood. Thirty years after helping the Raiders win its first.
But he's not getting ahead of himself. Hopes the current players aren't either.
He's got his sights set on Penrith. A vastly different Panthers to the ones Canberra smashed in Wagga Wagga back in early May.
Albeit without their powerhouse second-rower Viliame Kikau. Who's been Kikaued to the curb by the NRL Judiciary.
A two-week holiday for a late-shot-shoulder-charge that left many scratching their heads.
Oh well. Bad luck. Not the Raiders' concern.
"They just need to get it right this weekend against the Panthers. A tough game up there," Belcher said.
"They're a lot better side [than earlier in the season]. They've got their confidence back.
"We're lucky Kikau's not playing, but that still doesn't mean they're not going to be a difficult assignment.
"I always found them tough there. If they're at their best, the Panthers, they'll be really hard to beat.
"The thing about the Raiders is generally they've got 80 minutes in them, but they have been known to clock off in the last few seasons for periods of the game. But they're getting better at that."
Casting his mind back 30 years, there were thousands of moments that stood out. A massive year. The big day. And a big game.
Steve Jackson's game-sealing try in extra-time. Chicka Ferguson's match-leveller in the 80th minute. Mal Meninga's ankle tap. Chris O'Sullivan's field goal.
There's also one that potentially gets overlooked. Belcher's try.
The Raiders' first. The one that got the ball rolling in the second half. Got them on their way to creating history.
When asked whether it's a four-pointer that gets missed, Belcher joked there was at least one person who doesn't.
"Yeah probably. I don't forget it. Whilst it was important at the time, it got us back within reach, there were other great moments," he said.
"Chicka scoring, Jacko scoring. They were probably the big moments. And Mal's ankle tap. All of those things.
"It was just one of those games where so much happened. I guess that's why it's celebrated as the greatest grand final ever because there was so many little things that happened that had a big bearing on the game.
"My try was our first try, but it probably wasn't one of those clutch moments. But I'm proud I scored."
NRL ROUND 19
Sunday: Penrith Panthers v Canberra Raiders at Panthers Stadium, 4.05pm.
Raiders squad: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Bailey Simonsson, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Michael Oldfield, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Aidan Sezer, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Josh Hodgson (c), 10. Sia Soliola, 11. John Bateman, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Joe Tapine. Interchange: 14. Siliva Havili, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Corey Horsburgh, 17. Dunamis Lui, 18. Sam Williams, 19. Royce Hunt, 20. Sebastian Kris, 21. JJ Collins.
Panthers squad: 1. Dylan Edwards, 2. Josh Mansour, 3. Dean Whare, 4. Brent Naden, 5. Brian To'o, 6. James Maloney, 7. Nathan Cleary, 8. James Tamou, 9. Mitchell Kenny, 10. James Fisher-Harris, 11, Viliame Kikau, 12. Frank Winterstein, 13. Isaah Yeo. Interchange: 14. Wayden Egan, 15. Jahrome Luai, 16. Moses Leota, 17. Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 18. Jed Cartwright, 19. Spencer Leniu, 20. Stephen Crichton, 21. Liam Martin.