Breaking the drought?: South Sydney win their way into their first grand final in 43 years with victory over arch-rivals Sydney Roosters on Friday night. Credit:Getty Images Yet, in the eyes of many Souths people then and even now, the common enemy will always be News Ltd, the monster that ate rugby league when it triggered Super League, and then owned half the game. The monster that devised "admission criteria" that led to Souths' exclusion from the competition for the 2000 and 2001 seasons. Back then, Rupert Murdoch was the most reviled man in town, because he didn't care about hearts and minds as much as credit card details and pay-TV subscriptions. This column emailed the News Corp executive chairman this week for comment about Souths' run at the premiership. The 83-year-old hasn't responded, but we'd appreciatively publish his thoughts. "That's a surprise," Pappas says. "Businesses make cold-hearted decisions. But News underestimated the public sentiment." Footballers in full playing strip mixed with diehard fans and sweaty media at Redfern Oval at lunchtime on Monday, and it was a scene that would've been unrecognisable at the same ground 14 seasons ago, save for the sprinkling of indigenous children still running about in bare feet, clutching a footy, looking up at their heroes in cardinal and myrtle.

People power: Souths fans and supporters of the game march along George Street in 2000. Credit:Jon Reid Coach Michael Maguire has no need to focus on nostalgia right now, but the fact the Rabbitohs are on the verge of a premiership is the greatest "up yours" to big business in recent memory. It's a reminder that we mostly care about wins and losses, not the bottom line. It's about people, not power. It's about our footy. Our club. Our heroes. As the banners and T-shirts worn by the 120,000 people who marched in each of the Save Our Souths rallies clearly said: IT'S OUR GAME – GIVE IT BACK. It wasn't Souths fans who were saying it, but fans from every club. Glory, glory to South Sydney: Greg Inglis is greeted by a big group of supporters at the club's fan day on Monday. Credit:Brendan Esposito In the late 1990s, Pappas was a Souths tragic who was also a lawyer. When studying law at university, he would scribble the NSWRL table in the back of his notebook, and work out where Souths would finish the season. When the club was kicked out of the competition, he worked pro bono in their legal fight for reinstatement.

Two episodes from those days stand out for him this week. Each day during the court hearings, grandmothers dressed in red and green would sit outside the Federal Court and knit patiently, showing support just by being there. "How are we doing today, Nicholas?" they'd ask as he charged into court. "We doing well?" One day, one of them came into the courtroom during an adjournment and offered vanilla slice to Pappas and the rest of the Souths legal team – before offering some to News Ltd's silks and junior barristers. When Justice Finn later dismissed Souths' claim that the NRL's 14-team competition was illegal, a dejected Pappas fronted the fans at the leagues club. "The fans were actually celebrating," he recalls. "They were cheering. Justice Finn's decision was a shattering loss, but it almost didn't matter. I stood up there and told them we were appealing. I had no idea at the time if we were going to appeal. I actually told them because that's what they wanted to hear."

The leagues club erupted. "We're appealing!" the crowd shouted. "We're appealing!" Says Pappas: "I thought, 'What have I just said?' There was this sense that something had been unleashed and it was unstoppable." What he had said had given the club's supporters hope. That's really all the footy fan has. The beauty is there's always the next game, the next season. It never ends. Appealing meant there was another game to play, another bitter rival to defeat. When the full bench of the Federal Court ruled Souths should be allowed back into the competition, News Ltd stopped the fight. They had sniffed the breeze, knowing full well how much the battle against the club was hurting their brand and the sale of their newspapers. Was it all News Ltd's fault, though?

A lot of history will be rewritten this week, but what is commonly forgotten is that Souths had two years to get their house in order to meet the criteria set down. Legend has it the chief executive at the time, Darrell Bampton, had a computer at his desk ... with no keyboard. When Souths were readmitted, it failed to ride the wave of public sentiment that had seen them represent more than a footy club, but an ideal about what sport should be. They galvanised against a common enemy, but they returned to fighting themselves. Piggins was pushed out. "The big end of town is going to look after this now," he often said during those times. Loading

Then Russell Crowe and Peter Holmes a Court seized control, leading them to the position where they are ready to write some more history, against the Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium on Sunday night. "It's nothing more than nostalgia now," says Pappas of his club's tumultuous past. "We've left those days behind us. We've reach the grand final at a time when the code is truly independent, and in good hands."