Jesse Bromwich was more envious than normal when he watched the 2014 decider.
Not only was his Melbourne side sent crashing out in week one of that year’s NRL finals, but there was also the pain of watching another lifelong dream being fulfilled by someone else.
Or to be precise, three others.
The sight of an emotional Sam, George and Thomas Burgess spralwed across the ANZ Stadium turf after their victory over Canterbury sent shivers only certain bloodlines can.
On Sunday, Jesse will get the chance to emulate the Burgess boys when he plays alongside brother Kenny in this year’s decider against Cronulla.
“It’s pretty hard to watch any grand final when you’re not in it,” Bromwich told AAP.
“But I definitely watched that one. You wish it was you instead of them. It’s always been a goal of ours, to play in a grand final together one day.
“You set goals, but you’re never sure if it’s going to come true. This one has, so here we go.”
The Bromwich boys will become the 13th set of brothers to play in a grand final decider, including Norm and Peter Provan, and Andrew and Matthew Johns.
Others include Ian and Nathan Hindmarsh, as well as Brett and Glenn Stewart.
Victory would be especially sweet for Jesse, whose well-documented move to the Storm only came due to their chase of older brother Kenny.
But that doesn’t mean the New Zealand international will be more grateful to his sibling.
“Nah, we’re past that now. At the start I was really thankful to him. But we’ve moved on from that now and it’s all about trying to help each other get better,” he said.
BROTHERLY LOVE IN GRAND FINALS
Norm and Peter Provan (St George 1958-59) – Both wins
Gary, Mark and Graeme Hughes (Canterbury 1980) – Win
Gary, Mark and Graeme Hughes (Canterbury 1979) – Loss
Steve, Peter and Chris Mortimer (Canterbury 1980, 1984-85) – Win
Steve, Peter and Chris Mortimer (Canterbury 1986) – Loss
Kerrod and Kevin Walters (Brisbane 1992-93) – Both wins
Matthew and Andrew Johns (Newcastle 1997) – Win
Brett and Glenn Stewart (Manly 2008, 2011) – Both wins
Sam, George and Thomas Burgess (South Sydney 2014) – Win
Michael and Phil Blake (Manly 1982-83) – Both losses
Peter and Mark Coyne (St George 1992) – Loss
Glen and Corey Hughes (Canterbury 1998) – Loss
Ian and Nathan Hindmarsh (2002) – Loss