IT'S been a dream debut season with the Bathurst Bulldogs for Jarrod Zuvela, and it's 80 minutes away from becoming a perfect one.
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The new recruit will be a part of this Saturday's Blowes Cup grand final against the Orange Emus, set to be played in front of a passionate home crowd at Ashwood Park.
The former CSU player returned to Bathurst from the Central Coast this year, immediately finding himself as a top grade option at flanker for the blue and gold.
He's shown flexibility by playing in the second row or at number 8 when needed throughout the campaign, but lands back in the number six for the biggest game of the season.
Zuvela said he couldn't have imagined finding himself in a first grade finale in his debut year with the club.
"It's all been a bit surreal. I was surprised from the beginning to find myself playing first grade regularly," he said.
"It's been great to have some success. After a while you look up and go 'Oh we're at the end of the season' and we're at the big show.
"We've still got a job to do. There's a bit more intensity to the finals but as Fox [coach Dean Oxley] mentioned it's still the same game we all love to play.
"A bit of silverware would be an awesome end to my first year with the Bulldogs. There's a tough opposition in front of us, but training has been good this week. We just need to manage the emotions and turn up."
Zuvela and the Bulldogs overcame a half-time deficit in the major semi-final to be 24-10 victors over the Emus, earning another home grand final as their reward.
It was a new chapter in an ever-expanding catalogue of memorable matches between the clubs, and another is sure to be written in this Saturday's rematch of the 2022 decider.
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He may be a newcomer to the classic Bulldogs-Emus rivalry but the history of the clash isn't something lost on the flanker.
"Even when we go to Emus games and you're having beers at the clubhouse you see all the memorabilia on the walls with Doggies versus Emus games," he said.
"I've definitely enjoyed this matchup through the season and it's always exciting to be a part of it."
Bulldogs go into the match as the defending champions, looking for their third title in five years.
Zuvela said Oxley, along with co-coach Chris Plunkett, have been great at bringing out the best of a Bulldogs squad who have gone through their fair share of challenges throughout 2023.
"He's definitely one of the best coaches I've ever had, and him being paired up with Plunk makes for a great balance with each other," he said.
"At the start of the season it was about 'adding strings to the bow' for him. We didn't try and do everything at once. Every few weeks it was about adding something new or trying something different.
"We've been training consistently throughout the year to get ourselves confident in that process. It's important now not to leave anything in the gas tank because there is no next week now.
"The other thing he's spoken about is that we're 15 footballers, we're not relying on one man. In fact, it's more than 15 because we've had so many injuries, which shows the strength and depth at the club.
"I've been at other clubs where when someone in your first grade team goes it really throws your season off. The depth all the way to third grade here has been amazing."
First grade rounds out a huge day of grand final action, with kick-off at 3.15pm.
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