The town has always rode the club’s ups and downs, but it is the open-age side that has achieved the most success of late.

The team affectionately known as the “thirsty thirds” will compete for a second premiership in as many years, when they take on Lakes at Hunter Stadium this weekend.

The town turns red, white and blue to celebrate any  Bulldogs team in the grand final, and this year is no different.

Captain-coach Dean Peterkin said when he walked down the street, strangers had stopped him to wish him luck.

“There’s plenty of talk around the town,” Bulldogs secretary Jeff Polglase said.

“If we’re going good everyone feels a part of it.”

And while the famous red, white and blue bread at Kurri Hot Bread Shop won’t make a return this year, the town has shown their support in other ways.

The club is selling shirts in the lead-up to the match for supporters to don while they cheer their team on.

Polglase said close to 100 shirts had already been sold.

The Station Hotel and the Criterion Hotel  have organised buses down to Hunter Stadium for keen fans to catch a glimpse of the action.

Polglase said the Newcastle Rugby League competition always hoped for a Kurri Kurri team to make the grand final because of the strong crowds they pulled.

The preliminary final at Kurri Kurri Sportsground last week drew the second-largest crowd of the finals series, despite no Kurri Kurri teams featuring in any game.

Polglase said it was Kurri Kurri’s underdog mentality that drew the community to get behind them.

A club without a club headquarters, Kurri’s ground has to compete with neighbouring world-class facilities at Cessnock and the soon-to-be upgraded Maitland Sportsground.

“We’re stuck here in between Cessnock and Maitland,” he said.

“The ground is still the same as when I played in the ‘70s.”

The grounds are also a part of the community, used by day cares, community organisations and even Kurri Kurri Nostalgia Festival.

The club has put in hard work to keep the facilities going, which included a successful application for a $100,000 grant for upgrades.

Polglase paid tribute to the club volunteers who have been the heart and soul of the Bulldogs throughout the year.

“Without them the club wouldn’t exist,” he said.

“A special thank you to major sponsor Alfabs who are leaving us at the end of this season after seven years.

“We appreciate their support and are now actively on the lookout for a successor.”