Fans switching allegiance for a day isn't rare come grand final week but the torrent of neutral clubs' supporters bustling for a seat on the Canberra Raiders' bursting bandwagon leading into Sunday's NRL decider has been remarkable.
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Over the past few weeks the title race has dwindled and the Green Machine have edged ever closer to their first grand final in 25 years, and with that the sprinkling of lime green jerseys being enthusiastically shown off has become a downright deluge.
There's no shortage of die-hard, lifelong Canberra fans in Orange either though, among them Jamil Khalfan and Drew Bale, who can't get enough of the groundswell of support for their Raiders.
Everyone loves an underdog and that's definitely Canberra. The more support for the milk the better.
- Raiders die-hard Jamil Khalfan
They'll both be on hand as their side tackles the Sydney Roosters and they're quite happy to be among the Raiders' faithful driving the side's viking-clapping, Mal Meninga-loving bandwagon all the way to Sydney's ANZ Stadium.
"I think it's great, everyone loves an underdog and that's definitely Canberra this weekend. The more support for 'the milk' the better," Mr Khalfan said, the Raiders are colloquially known as 'the milk' as a result of their former sponsorship deal with Canberra Milk.
"You can always pick out the die-hard Raiders supporters and we've been waiting a long time for this but I don't think anyone has an issue with people jumping on Canberra's bandwagon," Mr Bale added.
"When you think of the Raiders you think of those incredible teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s, but after that they've largely been considered battlers and that's probably quite endearing, so I think everyone has a bit of a soft spot for them.
"The amount of support for Canberra might have something to do with the fact you either love the Roosters or hate them, but I agree it's great to see, here's hoping they get up."
Two of those unashamed bandwagon Raiders fans are Harry Cummins and Phil Johnson.
Cummins supports North Queensland while Johnson has a soft spot for Parramatta although he admitted he's more in tune with the 15-man code, but the housemates have thrown themselves behind the Green Machine.
"I'm absolutely getting behind Canberra. They've battled for so long and they're such a likable team, plus a lot of my mates go for them, so I'm definitely on that bandwagon," Mr Johnson said.
"Me too, up the bloody milk," Mr Cummins cried, before breaking into a solo viking clap while vehemently trying to claim he's also supported the Raiders' feeder club Mounties for years.
"Outside the Roosters' own fans I doubt there's a person in Australia that wants to see them win, you can tell from all the support Canberra are getting."
While Mr Bale, 32, remembers watching the Raiders' last premiership win in 1994 this weekend's decider is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Mr Khalfan, so far. He was born that year.
"If that's not an omen, I don't know what is," he laughed.
"I can't wait, my brothers are coming too, it'll be incredible if we get to see a Raiders' win."
Both Mr Bale and Mr Khalfan tipped the Raiders to win in a tight finish and added their predictions for the Clive Churchill Medal too, awarded to the man-of-the-match.
"I like Josh Papalii and Elliot Whitehead for the Churchill, but I think I'll actually tip Jack Wighton," Mr Bale said.
"Getting behind the Orange boy, I like it, I'm tipping Josh Hodgson though," Mr Khalfan said.
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