As the Griffith Three Ways United side prepares to head off to the Koori Knockout over the long weekend, they are determined to bring the prestigious event back to Griffith when they head to Tuggerah on the NSW Central Coast.
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It will be the 10th time the Griffith side have made the trip to the knockout and president Damien Thorne feels it's their time.
"We have made the final day six of the 10 times we have been to the knockout," he said.
"The only time we reached the grand final was in 2017 when we lost to the Newcastle Yowie. It is time to take it that one step further and bring the knockout back to our community."
It will be a star-studded Three Ways team who will look to make their 10th trip a memorable one.
"We have Ben Jeffery who is coming off a successful season in Group 20 with the DPC side, and he will be captaining the side in his 10th year," he said.
"George Broome has been our captain over the past couple of years and will be ready to go this weekend, and Robbie Simpson Junior will also be crucial.
"To keep up their match fitness, the boys have been playing in smaller knockouts, so they are in good shape for this weekend."
Along with those three players, Thorne believes the strong core of Michael Mitchell, Josh and Kodie Charles, Billy Gilbert, Troy Dumbrell, Michael Mogliotti and James Williams hold the key.
Those core players will be joined by Andrew and Latu Fifita as well as another NRL player whose identity Thorne was keeping close to his chest.
"All teams at the knockout like to keep some aces up their sleeves," he said.
The president wanted to pay credit to Robbie Simpson, who has put in 10 years of effort with the team alongside the dedicated committee.
If the Three Ways side were able to take out the knockout to Griffith, Thorne knows it will have a significant impact on the community.
"If we were able to secure hosting it would pump millions of dollars into the Griffith economy," he said.
"Dubbo has had it a couple of times, and they were able to raise 6-7 million dollars in just one year.
"Accommodation would be booked out for the entire week, and it would really put Griffith on the map as it is televised worldwide through SBS and NITV."
Thorne wanted to pay credit to the generosity of the Griffith community who have helped get their team to the knockout.
"What has really moved us over the last few years is the huge amount of support we have received from non-indigenous businesses in Griffith," he said.
"It can be hard to sell the cultural importance of this event to those who have not experienced it, so to have the support of the Casella and Calabria families, shows their commitment to the Aboriginal community in Griffith.
"Their commitment has been part of a longer-term partnership, and that speaks volumes to us - to have them believe in the cultural benefits of this event and our team is very important to us.
"We also want to thank the many businesses in the area who also supported our campaign. Griffith really rallied to help fund this team - we received support from a wide range of businesses."
Three Ways will get their knockout underway with a clash with Narwan Eels Gold on Saturday.
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