A surge of Canberra Raiders fever has smashed the long-held view that rugby league fans don't want to watch the Green Machine, figures revealing they have been the most popular side this year.
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Raiders fever moved to Sydney on Wednesday, with hundreds of fans lining the streets around Bruce to wave goodbye to the team bus.
The club's popularity has soared as they chase their first premiership in 25 years and the NRL streaming stats back-up their case for getting more exposure.
The Raiders were the most watched team by the 3.2 million users of the NRL app, with fans tuning in for a combined 43.5 million minutes during the regular season.
Those numbers would have jumped in the finals series and makes a compelling case for more free-to-air television coverage next season.
The Raiders have been traditionally shunned by Channel Nine, with officials saying the club doesn't rate with its audience.
But the NRL app figures prove people want to see Canberra in action, and the jump has been helped by the introduction of the Viking clap to the club's game day experience.
The Raiders are giving Canberra exposure on a national stage and hosting a preliminary final last week was expected to inject more than $3 million into the ACT economy.
Tickets to that match sold out in less than 48 hours and fans have been frantically buying Raiders merchandise this week to get ready for the grand final.
Four-time grand final veteran Brett White has urged all rugby league fans to join in the Viking clap on Sunday night to make NRL's showpiece event bigger than the AFL.
The Raiders haven't played in a grand final since they won the premiership in 1994, making them the overwhelming public favourite for the clash against the Sydney Roosters this weekend.
But the pre-match entertainment for fans has been making just as many waves as the players, with the Viking clap becoming one of the best advertisements for rugby league.
The Viking horn traveled on a tow truck behind the players' bus on Wednesday and the NRL has granted approval for the Viking clap to be done before kick-off.
White, a Cooma junior who spent six years at the Melbourne Storm before finishing his career at the Raiders, wants the NRL grand final spectacle to rival the AFL big-game experience.
That means every fan buying into the Viking clap, even if they're Roosters supporters.
"When you say 80,000 people doing the Viking clap ... that's going to be something special," White said.
"I really hope Roosters fans jump on board and they're all doing the Viking clap.
"All I hear from Victoria is about the AFL grand final and how wonderful it is. Well imagine 80,000 doing [the Viking clap], the NRL grand final would be world class spectacle.
"We'll blow the AFL grand final out of the water if everyone jumps on board and buys in. How good would it be to sit back in 10 years time and tell your kids about the day the Viking clap came to ANZ [Stadium]."
Asked if he expected Roosters fans to join in a Raiders tradition, White said: "For the good of the game I do.
"To get behind our game, the NRL. To make the NRL grand final better than the AFL grand final. Surely that's got to be worth buying into ... We'll blow the AFL grand final out of the water."
White is a part of Ricky Stuart's coaching staff, teaming up with Andrew McFadden to build a side capable of winning a title.
His grand final experience will be crucial to helping players prepare given just one Raider, Joey Leilua, knows what it's like to play in an NRL decider.
White said the trigger for change was everyone buying into Stuart's vision to rebuild the Green Machine as a premiership force.
"There certainly have been [some tough times]. I guess when Ricky came in with his vision of what he wanted, it was quite easy to buy into," White said.
"He said it really clear about where we need to get there. This isn't going to be a one-off year. We've built this to go on for many years to come.
"We'll be strong going forward. [The vision he sold] is exactly what this week is all about."