With the Kookaburra Bowl championship on the line, the Sutherland Seahawks Colts faced reigning Bowl champions, the UTS Gators, in last weekend's "Sydney Superbowl" at Cronulla's PointsBet Stadium.
The Sutherland Seahawks are a local club in the Gridiron NSW competition, they were formed in 1987 by Terry Johnston and the club played with Caringbah High School as its home field until 2003; now train at Sutherlands Waratah Park.
An overtime thriller at the Revesby semi-finals sent them back to the Championship game with a 38-36 win over the Nepean ducks, whilst in the other game, the UTS Gators thrashed the Sydney Uni Cubs 46-0.
In a massive upset, the Hawks put it all together on the day leading 12-0 at half time and beating the previously undefeated UTS team 20 - 16 to claim a famous victory.
It was all the more special because the Hawks don't have a home ground and play all their games 'away'- they are a small club with limited resources, all the other clubs sponsored by big Universities.
Hawks player Daniel MacDonald won the Kookaburra Bowl MVP. He played in the offensive line and defensive line, which meant he stepped up and never left the field.
Fourth-year coach Daniel Besc said they were the underdogs, but they had prepared well and there has been a renewed interest in American football.
"The awareness in our game has increased with Rugby League players like Valentine Holmes trying to crack the USA," Daniel said
"We have been a very successful team over the last decade with our Colts (16-19) and are now trying to set up a junior team (13-15)
"We don't have a senior team and have developed a lot of coaches who have learnt and bought into our system and believe in our team.
"This 2021 winning team is young and full of first and second-year players -so it looks good for us next year," Daniel said
A club spokesman said while they will continue to celebrate long into the offseason, the people behind their great club needed to be acknowledged.
"That winning 'Seahawks' chant was the loudest atmosphere we have ever witnessed and special to experience.
"To all the executives, coaches, and team personnel, thank you for your tireless hours volunteering. The behind the scenes work put in analysing film, practising on cold winters nights and the work that isn't seen game day is what makes this club great.
"Special mention to Kerrie and Andrew Besz for their time and effort on game day."
After a short offseason, the Seahawks will fly again, this time carrying the favourites flag.