Rabbitohs on cusp of return to glory It's been a long road back for South Sydney since being kicked out of the NRL in 1999, but they now stand on the cusp of winning a first minor premiership in 24 years. Financially stressed and living off memories of their record 20 premierships - the team known as the pride of the league suffered the unthinkable when they were excluded from the newly-formed competition. More than 80,000 people marched down George Street in Sydney to protest the decision and in 2000 following a successful Federal Court case against News Limited the club were re-admitted from 2002. Souths chairman Nick Pappas, a lawyer by profession, was one of the main players in that successful battle. However, his role in helping to usher in the Russell Crowe and Peter Holmes a Court era in 2006 has truly helped transform the club from a rag tag outfit into a thriving business on and off the field. But it hasn't all been plain sailing, with the bitter battle for control leading to the club's long-time patriarch George Piggins severing all ties and vowing never to return in protest. Seven years after Piggins walked away, the club are no longer a laughing stock and on Friday, Michael Maguire's side get the chance to put one over their bitter rivals the Sydney Roosters and lift a first JJ Giltinan Shield since 1989. Souths fans still wince at the memory of the cashed-up Roosters' golden era between 2002-04 when they reached three grand finals as the Rabbitohs lived hand to mouth on their way to claiming two wooden spoons in that same period. And no one remembers those bad times more than Pappas and he fully understands the enormity of Friday's game. "It's been a decade where the club has started almost from nothing when it was reinstated in 2002 to where it is today," Pappas told AAP. So it's been very satisfying in terms of the good result on the field, but we are still some way from the main prize and we're certainly not beating our chests just yet. But it's also satisfying to see the club profiting off the field reputationally, financially and in all facets. When you look at how we've erred in the past, this is something of real pride to all our members and those of us heavily involved. Pappas credits the ownership model of the club and keeping its core values as the key to building on-field success. And he agreed the arrival of Crowe has been a massive benefit and not just because of the millions the Hollywood superstar's pumped into club. "We always knew success could happen eventually, especially when we introduced private investment," he said. This took us away from the traditional leagues club funded model ... and it's been a blessing not only because we introduced capital to the club, but also the lustre Russell Crowe brings and the benefits that gives us locally and overseas. But we've been successful with private investment because we've blended private investment with public ownership. We don't have two owners ... we have three because the members still own 25 per cent but still have a say in the core values of the club so the investors can't change much without the repository of the members. We have a long way to go but I think our members can see the transformation that has occurred and take some pleasure. We are now looked upon by the rest of the NRL as one of the benchmark clubs and that's a far cry from where were 10 years ago.