The roaring Redfern Oval crowd drowned out South Sydney superstar Greg Inglis’ first words when he stepped up to the microphone.
The raucous shouts of an estimated 10,000 delirious fans at their spiritual base on Monday broke just long enough to hear the words they had been waiting 43 years to hear.
“The premiership is back in Redfern, back where it belongs,” a hoarse Inglis yelled into the microphone, and the crowd roared again.
“The longer the wait, the sweeter it tastes.”
The streets in and around Redfern were awash with red and green on Monday as Souths celebrated Sunday night’s 30-6 NRL grand final win over Canterbury – their first premiership since 1971.
Traffic was at a standstill, with a significant police presence, and the queue to get into the famous ground stretched halfway around the block.
In the warm sunshine, they waited for their heroes to arrive.
Chief executive Shane Richardson addressed the crowd first, speaking of the “enormous anger” he witnessed when joining the club 10 years ago, shortly after their readmission to the NRL after being excluded from the 2000 and 2001 seasons.
“The most important thing today is that Souths fans are happy again,” Richardson said.
“The best part of this is to see all those happy faces out there.”
Chairman Nick Pappas, a key figure in the fight for reinstatement, also spoke from the stage in the centre of the ground.
The biggest cheers were then reserved for the players as they came out mostly wearing sunglasses, and then for captain John Sutton and coach Michael Maguire carrying the Norm Provan and Arthur Summons trophy that symbolises NRL supremacy.
With blue bruising clouding his battered face – and beneath a battered imitation Akubra that looked the worse for wear after a night of partying – Sam Burgess was cheered like few Englishmen have ever been cheered in Australia.
“This will stay with me forever,” declared Burgess, the Clive Churchill medal still swinging from his massive neck.
After about an hour of non-stop cheering, high-fives with the fans and endless photos on smartphones, it was time for the players and the crowd to depart.
The final words were left to the man who has played more games for Souths than any other.
“We will be celebrating this for at least another week,” Sutton said.
And the crowd went up again.
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