MALIK Deyaolu was a fresh-faced winger when he played for Macquarie in the 2015 grand final.
Now, aged 24 and following a few years away in Melbourne, the Scorpions second-rower is keen to return to Newcastle Rugby League's biggest stage.
"Definitely. I hope to God we make the grand final. I've been envisioning it every day. That would be awesome," Deyaolu said.
Macquarie find themselves one win away from reaching the September 11 showdown at McDonald Jones Stadium, facing minor premiers the Pickers at Maitland Sportsground on Saturday having beaten Central 36-18 in the qualifying semi at St John Oval on the weekend.
Deyaolu says there's "great energy" around the team, having also sealed the all-important third spot on the competition ladder in the last round.
However, the Scorpions junior, who lives at Fishing Point, says the sides from 2022 and seven years ago are "very different".
"It was definitely an older team back then and we've got a few young guys in our team now, but the skill level is on par," Deyaolu said.
"From the speed out wide that we've got to the skill we've got in our halves. We're not the biggest team in the competition, but we come ready to play and we're very aggressive in the middle.
"If you look at it throughout the year we've got a very good defensive track record and that creates a good attack as well.
"Comparing the two teams, they're very different."
Macquarie lost that decider against Lakes.
Deyaolu played reserve grade in 2016 and the Scorpions went down to Souths in the title tussle.
He had the next year off when the Toronto-based club broke a lengthy premiership drought, defeating top-ranked Wests.
Deyaolu returned to the field in 2018 with Macquarie collecting the wooden spoon.
He then relocated to Melbourne at the start of 2019, working in the construction industry but not playing any footy.
Deyaolu moved home around October and is now an apprentice carpenter, but made a beeline for pre-season training with the Scorpions.
"I'm absolutely loving it," he said.
"Not being able to play was killing me. The first thing I did, as soon as I moved back here, was speak to Roachy [assistant Matt Roach] down at the Scorps and get back into pre-season. I was training in Melbourne basically to come back and play, even watching games on BarTV."
In terms of the positional switch, from out wide to edge forward, Deyaolu admits "it's been a pretty big change" but feels like he's "progressed a fair bit" between trials and play-offs.
