Collegians captain Blake Phillips will have the opportunity to further enhance an already remarkable Illawarra Rugby League record when he leads his side into Saturday’s Harrigan Cup Grand Final against Corrimal at WIN Stadium.
For Phillips, Grand Final day is very familiar territory. Incredibly, Saturday will be his ninth Illawarra Rugby League Grand Final, with the experienced forward having already collected four First Grade premierships during a decorated career spanning Helensburgh and Collegians.
Another victory on Saturday would take Phillips to five premierships.
“Yeah, mate, that’s why we’re here again. Great to be in there, mate. We’ve come together at the right time of year,” Phillips said.
While many players can go through an entire career without experiencing a Grand Final, Phillips has become a regular on the biggest stage of the local season. Yet despite having played in so many, the occasion has lost none of its significance.
“You always look at the big games and the Grand Final is no bigger,” Phillips said.
“You never forget them. You can remember a moment in the game and I can’t remember the exact score, but you can remember just the feeling and how it is to win one and the drive from losing one is obviously even a bit bigger.”
That drive from defeat will carry particular significance on Saturday. Collegians return to WIN Stadium determined to go one better after suffering a heartbreaking 14–8 extra-time loss to Wests in last year’s decider.
Fine margins across a remarkable Grand Final career
Phillips’ Grand Final record also tells a story of just how fine the margins have been throughout his career.
Six of his eight previous deciders have been settled by eight points or fewer, including all four of his defeats. His first Grand Final with Helensburgh ended in a heartbreaking 29–28 loss to Collegians in 2013, before the Tigers went down 20–16 to Thirroul the following year.
More than a decade later, last season’s 14–8 extra-time defeat to Wests was another that could easily have fallen the other way.
With a little more fortune in those tight contests, Phillips’ already impressive haul of four premierships could have been greater still. Instead, those near misses have become as much a part of his Grand Final story as the victories, and help explain his belief that the drive created by losing a decider can be even stronger than the feeling of winning one.
Backs against the wall (below): Phillips and his Collegians troops during the 2023 Grand Final Loss to Thirroul.
Collies find their way back
Collegians’ path back to the Grand Final this season has been far from straightforward. After an inconsistent period through the middle of the year, the Collie Dogs were forced to reassess where their season was heading and Phillips believes a lift in training standards helped turn their campaign around.
“We just tweaked a few things at training, lifted the intensity of our training and just sort of did a bit of soul searching,” Phillips said.
“We just decided where we wanted to be and then we set a goal to try to win the majority of our last few games.”
Phillips also credited coach Jimmy Grehan (pictured below) with helping steer the side back on course as the finals approached.
“Probably more from what Jimmy instilled in us and his coaching sort of got us on the right path and ready to go,” he said.
The turnaround has gathered momentum at exactly the right time.
Collegians survived a dramatic 31–30 elimination semi-final against Dapto before producing an impressive 28–8 preliminary-final victory over Thirroul to secure their second consecutive Grand Final appearance.
Now waiting for them are minor premiers Corrimal, who carry their own compelling story into Saturday’s showdown.
The Cougars will contest their first Grand Final since 1989 and are chasing their first premiership since 1974 after establishing themselves as one of the competition’s benchmark teams throughout 2026.
It sets up a fitting finale, a Corrimal side attempting to end a 52-year premiership drought against a Collegians team determined to erase the disappointment of 12 months ago.
And right in the middle of it will be Phillips.
At 34, the Collegians captain has experienced virtually everything Illawarra Rugby League can offer, but another Grand Final, his ninth, clearly still carries plenty of meaning.
Eight Grand Finals, four premierships and four defeats have already given Phillips a remarkable record on the biggest day of the Illawarra Rugby League season.
On Saturday, he gets another opportunity to tip that ledger in his favour and make it premiership number five.
The Phillips File – Eight deciders, four titles and one more shot
Helensburgh
- 2013 – Collegians 29 def Helensburgh 28 (L)
- 2014 – Thirroul 20 def Helensburgh 16 (L)
- 2015 – Helensburgh 16 def Wests 10 (W)
Collegians
- 2017 – Collegians 22 def Dapto 14 (W)
- 2019 – Collegians 16 def Wests 14 (W)
- 2022 – Collegians 12 def Wests 10 (W)
- 2023 – Thirroul 24 def Collegians 18 (L)
- 2025 – Wests 14 def Collegians 8 (extra time) (L)
- 2026 – Collegians v Corrimal, WIN Stadium, 19 September
Photo credit: Denis Ivaneza