Tears streamed down Josh Addo-Carr’s face as he stood arm in arm with his teammates during the national anthem.
After all the struggles, the knock backs, the doubts, this was the moment he knew had made it.
In the space of 12 months Addo-Carr had gone from NRL unknown to Storm excitement machine.
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As he stood tall before the game he caught a glimpse of his family up in the stands and suddenly his entire journey over the last 22 years came flooding back.
"I was singing the national anthem and I looked at them and started bawling my eyes out,” Addo-Carr told the Sydney Morning Herald.
"I was just thinking to myself "we made it, we made it" and then we also won the game. I can't believe it. I was just so proud."
"It was a bonus to play this in Sydney where I grew up, where I was born and bred. It's something special. My grandparents were here tonight, my dad was here, my girlfriend, my daughter it was just unbelievable and I did it for them.”
Once the anthem was sung and the tears whipped from his face, Addo-Carr was ready to put on a show on the big stage and that is exactly what he did.
History will forever show two tries next to The Fox’s name in the 2017 NRL Grand Final, a fitting footnote in a remarkable journey that is only just getting started.
