It is the 106-year-old timekeeper's bell that symbolises South Sydney's struggle to survive and all of the triumphs the game's oldest and most successful club has achieved.

It is the bell that was used to ring the start and finish of the Rabbitohs' first match in 1908 against Norths at Birchgrove Oval. It is the bell Russell Crowe paid $42,000 for at a function in 1999 to raise funds for Souths' court case against News Ltd and the NRL for readmission to the premiership.

And it is the bell that was rung when the Rabbitohs played their return match against the Roosters in 2002 after readmission to the NRL. It has been silent since.

But, at Sunday night's grand final, the bell will sound again as Souths and Canterbury players run out of the tunnel at ANZ Stadium and onto the playing field.