As the Blues take the field tonight in Brisbane for the final State of Origin match, the friends, family, and former coaches of two players from Dubbo say they will be cheering the loudest.
Isaah Yeo and Matt Burton both grew up in central west New South Wales, playing alongside each other in the same junior rugby league teams and throughout high school at St John's College.
This year, they took to the field together again when New South Wales put away Queensland in game two.
It was a match that Zoe Warwick, former schoolmate and now Matt Burton's girlfriend, could not miss.
"You can't put it into words."
What is in the water at St John's?
Rugby league maintains a big presence in regional New South Wales, and St John's College Dubbo has a long tradition of building stars in the sport.
Dozens of former students have been graded with NRL teams over the school's five-decade history.
The college's Rugby League coordinator Andy Haycock, who coached both Yeo and Burton, said he felt a sense of pride when watching them play.
"In game one, the players named their junior club, and for Matt and Isaah to say St John's Dubbo was pretty cool," he said.
Isaah 'worked really hard for it'
A career in the league was always a possibility for Yeo, who followed in the footsteps of his father, Justin Yeo, a former NRL player for North Sydney and Balmain.
"Isaah always saw that vision. He saw what he wanted in the future, and he worked really hard for it." Mr Yeo said.
The sacrifices paid off when the younger Yeo joined the Penrith Panthers in 2014 and will wear the blue jersey for New South Wales for a third time tonight.
For former schoolmates who won't make it to Suncorp Stadium tonight, viewing parties will be the next best thing.
A close friend of Burton, and former childhood teammate, Paddy Haycock said he and other friends would gather to watch the game and cheer on the boy from Dubbo.
"We've played footy with him since day dot, [and] from where he's come from to what he's doing now is just sort of unreal," Mr Haycock said.
