NRL grand final: The moment Canberra Raiders great Laurie Daley dropped the Winfield Cup

It's only natural if Laurie Daley silently ponders that question as those two men look to lead the Canberra Raiders to NRL glory against the Sydney Roosters at Sydney Olympic Park on Sunday.

Because in the name of Les McInytre, if you get your hands on that Provan-Summons trophy, please just hold onto it.

Daley has been there before, standing in the back of a ute with the trophy in his hands during a victory parade through the streets of Queanbeyan following that day in 1989. Thousands of Raiders fans were saluting their heroes and he was holding the trophy they all wanted a glimpse of.

Until the man behind the wheel hit the accelerator, and suddenly, he wasn't. Daley was wide-eyed as the trophy crashed into the asphalt.

"Well, it was either me or the trophy going overboard, so I did the honourable thing and saved myself," Sky's Big Sports Breakfast host Daley joked to The Canberra Times.

"I don't think we really cared at that particular moment in time, and it has just grown in folklore now."

MORE RAIDERS NEWS

How could it not? The image of then-Raiders captain Mal Meninga holding a battered trophy, wrapped in a towel just to keep the pieces together, is unforgettable.

So iconic is that moment, a picture of Meninga in front of thousands of delirious Raiders fans is set to adorn the cover of a book detailing the club's storied history.

So what happened to the base? After all, the bronzed version of Arthur Summons' embrace with Norm Provan following the 1963 decider was completely separated from its wooden stand.

Well, somewhere in Canberra lies a piece of wood amongst a staggering collection of 101 Raiders jerseys belonging to Green Machine die hard Peter "Nugget" Osborne.

And Daley, well he can't believe there is still a piece of it floating around.

"Well mate, we did smash the base. We did a job on it," Daley said.

Not that the smaller man on the trophy seemed to mind.

"They'll repair us," Summons said at the time. "It'll only be another chip off us, and there were plenty of chips in the old days."

The Raiders have arrived in the big smoke ahead of their long-awaited return to the grand final. First came the farewell for which scores of Raiders fans lined the streets around the club's Bruce headquarters on Wednesday morning, cheering on their beloved Green Machine as they prepare to spoil the party of rugby league's glamour club.

Daley himself is all too familiar with the butterflies bred by such a farewell.

"Mate, it's a magic feeling," Daley said.

"That's one of the reasons you play, to see the fans so happy and your supporters there. They support you through thick and thin.

"That's exactly what the Raiders have done. It's great to see so many people back at the games, wearing green colours and being proud of them, and getting right behind the team.

"You could sense it, and you could sense everyone wanted you to do well. You just didn't want to let them down and you didn't want to let yourself down.

"You knew if you gave it your all, everyone was proud of you. That's what they've got at the moment. They've got a football team they're very proud of, they've got a football team that's committed, and a football team that wants to win."

Now today's Raiders sit on the cusp of creating their own slice of history in their bid to end a 25-year premiership drought.

Daley stood at the season launch as his teammates of yesteryear told the new generation they were sick of seeing grainy footage of their miraculous grand final wins.

Now, they said, it is time for you to create your own memories. Let's add some new footage to the highlight reels.

"You want your players to be aware of what the history of the club is and the fabric of the club, but also you want them to strive to create their own bit of history," Daley said.

"They've developed and gone through some tough years. They've stuck at their task and now they're starting to get a bit of a reward for being patient."

Now it is simply a matter of getting their hands on the trophy - and holding onto it.

"That'd be nice," Daley said.

NRL GRAND FINAL

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Sydney Roosters at ANZ Stadium, 7.30pm. Tickets available from Ticketek.