Christian's Sunday special: 100 games and a grand final

Playing in a grand final is already the pinnacle of rugby league for many players.

But to play in a premiership decider that is also a milestone game, that’s something truly special.

For Norths Devils utility Julian Christian, that is the exact scenario he finds himself in this Sunday as he reaches game 100 in his first ever Hostplus Cup grand final.

It’s so perfect, he could almost believe someone is pulling the strings in his life.

“It’s almost like it was bloody scripted,” Christian said.

“The 100 games falls straight on the grand final.

“I didn’t really think of it at the start of the year... anything could have happened. But it just panned out that I played a certain number of games during the season, we got enough wins in the finals and it’s lined right up on the grand final. It’s crazy.

“I’m very excited. It’s been a long, long journey. It’s taken me about eight seasons, three different clubs to get there.

“It’s my first time playing a grand final… I’m very excited and grateful and I can’t wait to go out there.

“I’ve got a lot of family and friends coming and my daughters will be there. I can’t wait to get there and have everybody that’s close to me be there to see it.”

Christian – who started his Cup career with the Ipswich Jets and also spent two seasons at the Northern Pride – joined the Devils for the 2024 season, moving from Cairns back to Brisbane.

He spoke with the Queensland Rugby League at the time, revealing he made the move back to the southeast corner to be closer to his two young daughters and to play with some of his closest mates in the game in Devils skipper Kierran Moseley and injured playmaker Gerome Burns.

And that decision has panned out better than the 26-year-old ever could have imagined.

When he came to Bishop Park, a premiership was an obvious goal.

But as the Devils went on a seven-game winning run between April and June, it started to become clear to Christian and his teammates that something special was building.

“Obviously it was our goal and we spoke about it,” Christian said of making the 2024 grand final.

“We always had it in the back of our minds. That’s a big part of why I came to this club. They’re a successful club.

“But once we saw the team and the talent and hard workers… it was a really good squad, a good mixture… we thought, ‘maybe we could, maybe it is a possibility.’

“We went on that seven-game run – seven wins in a row. Me and Gerome, we live together as well. We’d talk about it every weekend, say, ‘we might make it.’

“It just started to become a popular conversation at dinnertime, talking about finals. We had that belief but once you’re here now, it’s pretty special.”

With eight seasons in the Hostplus Cup, Christian has both many fond memories and a number of challenges he has overcome.

The former Brisbane Broncos under 20s player got his Cup debut in 2017 when former Ipswich coaches Ben and Shane Walker gave him the opportunity.

Christian was meant to train with the Ipswich Colts team, but the Walkers wanted him in Cup.

Ironically, he debuted in the same number he will wear this Sunday – the No.14 jersey.

“For one night a week, I’d go back to the Jets,” Christian said of his time in the Broncos system.

“I was supposed to be training with the Colts. I was 18, 19 and I was lucky enough the Walker boys were there.

“As soon as I got there, they let me train with them. After training with them for a while, they let me have a crack at the second last game of the season and I got my debut.

“It was really special. I loved it there so I signed for three or four years and stayed out there.

“There’s a fair few highlights from my career. Nothing will top the 100 games in a grand final this weekend.

“But there’s special memories that mean a lot to me, like when I went home to represent the Northern Pride.

“Being from Cairns, that was a proud moment to get back and chuck that jersey on and play a part in taking them to the finals in my first year back.”

For Christian, the challenges all relate to his family.

He originally went to Cairns to be closer to his immediate family whom he missed, but it then meant leaving his daughters in Brisbane for two years.

Coming back to the southeast corner to be around them was the most obvious choice for him this year.

“The most challenging would definitely be being away from my girls," he said.

"Being away from them for those couple of years that I decided to go back home and be around my family up north, that was definitely tough.

“And hats off too to the girls’ mother for looking after them and doing it by herself. That was very tough for her.

“I wouldn’t be playing 100 games if it wasn’t for the people who sacrificed a lot of time and effort to allow me to play at this level for this long.

“I’m glad my girls will be at the game this weekend. That was the big reason of why I moved back to Brisbane this year. That was definitely a tough part.”