Plenty has changed for Luke Lewis since his last grand final appearance.
Lewis will run out for Cronulla on Sunday 13 years after he won a premiership with Penrith – as a fleet-footed winger – in 2003.
And the 33-year-old is as excited as any of his younger teammates.
“It’s been 13 years between drinks for me,” he said.
“I can’t remember too much [about grand final week], to be honest. I was a just a young kid back then and I did enjoy the ride. I’m very fortunate to be here again.
“I’ve always wanted to [get back to a grand final]. When I was a kid I played in a lot of grand finals in the junior grades and I just thought it was going to happen all the time.
“I didn’t realise how hard it was or what had to happen for it to fall into place. Everything has to go well for you. You have to keep players on the park. I think we’ve done that really well this year and I’m just happy to be here.”
Lewis said there was a calm feeling around the group ahead of Sunday’s decider against Melbourne.
“I’ve actually learnt a lot off the younger guys who’ve sort of pulled our older guys back a bit and helped us relax a bit more,” he said.
“James Maloney has played in six [grand finals] in the last certain amount of years. So he’s been good for us keeping us nice and cool, calm and collected. Giving us a few tips about the week and he’s been a big part of our side.
“I think everything he’s done for our team over the last few weeks has been pretty special. We’ve just taken a few bits and pieces off him and Mickey [Ennis] and just going from there.”
