LUKE Capararo knows football.
The East Maitland student is only 10, but his morning routine involves checking NRL game highlights, crunching numbers, and discussing the different players and what they could have done.
Luke's dream will come true this weekend when he and his family travel to the NRL grand final showdown in Sydney.
"I'm excited ... I've never been," he told the Newcastle Herald.
Luke lives with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and has been a huge fan of the Newcastle Knights since birth.
With his team out of the running for the premiership, he will be cheering on the Melbourne Storm when they take on the Penrith Panthers at Accor Stadium on Sunday night.
"I can use money for jerseys and pretend to be a Melbourne fan," he joked.
"I'm going for Melbourne, because the Panthers have won too much."
Luke isn't against a bit of good-natured booing either, and said he would be in the crowd backing the Sharks when they take on the Roosters in the NRLW final on Sunday afternoon.
He says he likes watching the game of rugby league, loves the tackles, and "it's cool to watch when they win".
Luke will get to see the captain's run on Saturday and the coin toss with his dad as part of his "dream come true" experience through Make-A-Wish Australia.
"I get to watch the players get out of the bus, I'm going in a limo and going to a hotel accommodation for three nights," he said.
Luke's watched plenty of footy in his time and loves to analyse NRL statistics for sport.
He had some words of wisdom for Melbourne heading into their big weekend.
"Just don't give any penalties, kick the ball good and tackle them, and also work together," he said.
Luke has never been part of a game crowd as big as the one expected on Sunday.
His can see himself going to many more matches in the future and said he'd love to see the Knights boys win a grand final. He wouldn't miss that game for the world.
"I can keep this jersey for next year for the Knights," he said, after receiving the special shirt during a tour of the Centre of Excellence this week.
His favourite player is skipper Kalyn Ponga because "he does good running and kicking" and helped the Knights make it as far as they did the past two years.
He didn't hold back on his advice for Ponga, either.
"Play better, grind the game," he said, quickly adding he meant it as a positive.
Luke's mum Tanita Capararo thanked Make-A-Wish Australia.
"It's making his dream come true, so it really means a lot," she said.
