Controversial football media personality Sam Newman has declared that last Friday night's NRL qualifying final between Melbourne and South Sydney was "the most exciting game" he's ever seen, in any code.
Never too far from the headlines, the Geelong hall of famer has often spoken of his affinity for the Storm and rugby league.
Speaking on his Sam, Mike and Thomo podcast with Mike Sheahan and Grant Thomas, Newman described the Storm's heart-stopping 29-28 win over the Bunnies as "absolutely fantastic."
"I saw two teams of real men play football last Friday," Newman said.
"It was the most exciting game I've actually ever seen. I saw the Storm play the Rabbitohs and it was absolutely fantastic.
"Two teams of real men as opposed to one team of real men playing across the road on the same day and the same evening at the same time."
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That game across the road was the AFL elimination final between Melbourne and Geelong, which the Demons won by 29 points.
The Cats, the club who Newman played 300 games with, were well beaten that night and Newman didn't miss his chance to have a dig.
"You could see it happening and they were a disgrace," Newman said.
"But if you saw the Rabbitohs and the Storm play with commitment, attitude, desire, loyalty, enthusiasm, persistence, they were unreal those two sides.
"That's the most exciting game of football, AFL or NRL, I've ever seen."
One Twitter user who saw Newman on the way to the game in a Storm jersey questioned why a host of The Footy Show would be headed to a rugby league match instead of a big final featuring his former club.
If you need any further evidence that Sam Newman is a waste of space on @TheFootyShowAFL then this is it. Off to the @storm game when the team he played 300 games for plays a final ACROSS THE ROAD.... @Channel9 #AFLDeesCats #NRLStormSouths pic.twitter.com/UfZxuVJiX2
— Adam James (@nuggi) September 7, 2018
Regardless, he left AAMI Park with high praise for the two sides who played out one of the games of the year.
