South Sydney superstar Greg Inglis rates Sunday’s grand final as one of the biggest games of his storied NRL career.
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The 2014 decider against Canterbury will be Inglis’ fourth, having won the 2007 and 2009 premierships with Melbourne before they were stripped for salary cap breaches.
He was also a part of Queensland’s State of Origin squad in each of their eight straight series victories and has 29 Test caps to his name for Australia.
Asked yesterday where this year’s showdown at ANZ Stadium ranked, Inglis said it was ‘‘definitely up there’’.
‘‘I think it will be one of the biggest games I’ve come into,’’ he said.
‘‘The build-up towards it, there’s no question about it.
‘‘Leading into this week and playing this grand final means a lot to me.
‘‘And it means a lot to the community.
‘‘Seeing the fans travel from afar and come here to watch us train throughout the year really means a lot to us as players.’’
The 27-year-old, who still holds close the memories of his grand final victories with the Storm, said he was feeding off the excitement from his younger teammates experiencing it for the first time.
‘‘Coming into training the young boys are happy, buzzing around - which is really good to see because it helps me sit back and relax as well,’’ he said.
‘‘I’m just having a relaxed approach and really enjoy the week.’’
The gun fullback allayed any fears that his hip was still troubling him after suffering a knock in the last match of the regular season against the Sydney Roosters.
‘‘The body’s feeling fine,’’ he said.
‘‘This is the best shape I’ve been in for a long time. I’m holding up fine and I think having that week off really paid off.’’
Meanwhile, South Sydney are confident they can seamlessly overcome the loss of hooker Issac Luke, if he is rubbed out of the grand final.
The Kiwi rake will face the NRL judiciary today in a bid to beat his one-game ban for a lifting tackle on Sydney Roosters forward Sonny Bill Williams during Souths’ 32-22 preliminary final win over the defending premiers.
The Rabbitohs were forced to play without Luke in the early part of the season, as he battled a shoulder injury.
Back up No.9 Api Koroisau, who has played 13 games this season, filled in capably in his absence.
The Penrith-bound rake plays a similar style of dummy half to Luke, which captain John Sutton believes will not hamper his team too greatly if Koroisau is called up.
Cameron McInnes is another player coach Michael Maguire has used as a hooker this year. He has played seven games in 2014.
‘‘I have only seen the tackle a few times, but I don’t think there was too much in it,’’ Sutton said yesterday.
‘‘He is a big part of this team.
‘‘But no matter what, we have people that can do a job for us if he does miss out.’’