The Bunnies will meet the Penrith Panthers in the NRL Grand Final and although Mr Neil won't have the opportunity to take his two kids - Paddy and Heidi Penberthy-Neil - to the match, he won't let that spoil the day.

"Paddy in particular can't get enough footy," he said.

"I've told him for a long time that if we did make it to a grand final that we would go to it. Clearly I had to renege on that with everything, but hopefully one day we'll get to watch one. We'll watch it together at home and it will be good."

It was a long road for the red and green just to get to this moment, a road that included a 56-12 drubbing at the hands of the Panthers in Dubbo earlier this year.

Mr Neil took his kids to watch the game that day and thought their season may have been done and dusted.

"Penrith looked incredible really and we looked pretty ordinary. On the back of that alone I thought we were no hope and that Penrith and Melbourne were a cut above," he added.

"When Latrell Mitchel got put out a month ago I really thought that would be the final nail in the coffin and I told my family and other people that too, but I've been very happy to be proved wrong.

"We'll all be much happier if they win, but it won't be the end of the world if they don't."

And for those wondering how the kids are feeling, Paddy is backing a Bunnies win by eight, with Cody Walker to be named the Clive Churchill Medal winner. The match kicks off at 7.30pm.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: