As he spoke, champagne sprayed around the room, but no-one cared.

Brett Kenny, still in his jumper 90 minutes after the match, sat on the back of one of the long benches talking excitedly about the match.

Kenny had a lot to be pleased with. He had scored two of his team’s four tries and unquestionably stamped himself as a strong candidate for next year’s Kangaroo tour to England and France.

“That’s a match I will never forget, it was magic,” Kenny said.

Steven Edge, the Parramatta captain and hooker, has been through the excitement before with two St George grand final-winning teams.

But yesterday was very special for Edge.

“I can’t get over it. I’m part of the Parramatta team when they won their first premiership. That’s history. That’s fantastic,” he said.

Joe Joseph, the team’s masseur, puffed on a cigar. He chain smokes cigars normally but never has one in the dressing room. But yesterday was that little bit special.

With sweat beading his face, big Joe yelled: “There’s no feeling to equal winning.”

Denis Fitzgerald, the club secretary who had played in Parramatta’s two losing grand final teams, had a stetson perched on his head as he efficiently demolished a bottle of champagne.

He was still nervous from the tight squeeze in the second half when Newtown led 11-7 for 23 minutes.

“Had they scored a try then it would have been curtains,” Fitzgerald said as he took a nerve-soothing gulp.

It was an emotion-charged thriller for the crowd as Parramatta battled desperately to make up the leeway and Newtown, just as stubbornly, hung on to their slender lead.

Parramatta could feel that Newtown were wilting. They piled on more pressure, aided by some good scrum wins, until the break finally came 14 minutes from the end.

Bob O’Reilly speared out the first pass to the ever-present Peter Sterling, Steve Sharp took his pass and Sterling was there again to send Graeme Atkins racing over for that desperately-needed try.

Mick Cronin converted to put Parramatta ahead 12-11. The match was in the balance until five minutes from the end when Kenny sent Steve Ella over wide out.

Calmly, Cronin lined up his kick and the roar of the crowd as soon as the ball left his boot signalled the success of a great kick.

To put the finishing touch to their complete control of the last minutes, Kenny picked up a rebound from a kick through by Steve McKenzie, he dummied, Phil Sigsworth swallowed it, and Kenny raced over for his second try.

There is nothing quite as sad as a losing dressing room after a grand final.

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It was sombre in the Newtown room although the players had every reason to be proud of their effort.

They did what few believed they could. But for a long time the impossible dream appeared likely to become reality when first Graeme O’Grady and then Brian Hetherington showed tremendous determination to score.

And when Tommy Raudonikis charged over from the scrum base after three minutes of the second half, Parramatta were in trouble.

Raudonikis gave it everything he had and he was there for the full match, but there were tears in his eyes in the dressing room later. “Sorry mate” he said to John Singleton who stood to win $250,000 had Newtown won.