South Sydney’s departing trio insist Sunday’s NRL grand final is not about them with Dane Gagai playing down any talk of a fairytale exit.

Bound for Newcastle, the star centre will leave the Rabbitohs after this weekend along with Adam Reynolds and Jaydn Su’A.

Both Reynolds and Su’A have done their best to sway away from sentimentality this week, with coach Wayne Bennett also a headline departure.

And, Gagai maintained he also would not let emotion take over before running out onto Suncorp Stadium on Sunday night.

“I’m not thinking this is my last year at the club or this is my first opportunity at a grand final,” he said.

“To be honest it’s not that hard. 

“I have been doing this for a long time now and I know that if my mind is elsewhere, I will already be letting the boys down. 

“That’s the last thing you want to do as a player, not be able to look your mate in the eye that you haven’t done the best job. 

“All my focus is purely on going into this game as the best version of myself. 

“Once the 80 minutes is up, I am sure a lot of that reflection will come.

“But, until that whistle blows, I won’t be thinking of any of that.”

Gagai also laughed off questions over whether he would be in State of Origin mode come Sunday, given his tendency to stand up on the big stage.

He also hailed Campbell Graham and Cameron Murray as the men who inadvertently swayed him to head to South Sydney in 2018 as he left the Knights in pursuit of a premiership.

“They were the two I looked at and thought these young fellas have got the attitude I really like,” he said.

“They are not just happy chucking on a jersey and wanting to be first graders.

“They actually want to win and represent the club.”

Gagai is not alone in his approach, with Su’A adamant the club had to be put first this weekend before he heads to St George Illawarra.

“When I left Brisbane I never thought I’d enjoy a club like Brisbane but with South Sydney, there’s something in the water,” the second-rower stated.

“It’s so family driven.

“That’s what it’s all about. 

“I am excited about what’s ahead but I just want to win this weekend, that’s all I care about.”

And, while the majority of the spotlight has been on Reynolds ahead of his move to Brisbane, he too was not thinking about this being his last game for Souths.

“I’ve got a bigger task at hand, I want to win this game,” he said.

“We’ll worry about the rest after that.”

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