He, too, has suffered the loss of loved ones and came into the season carrying a heavy personal burden.

It’s why Saturday night’s 84-78 victory over Geelong in the conference final meant so much.

And George had plenty of family and friends — most sporting “George 3” custom-made t-shirts — cheering him on.

“It means heaps, man,” George said.

“Especially, for me and Cory, we've been through so much before we came here.

“All we had to do was stick with each other, help each other out and encourage each other and stay positive.

“For myself, I know it's been hard times but I just had to focus on my game and just go out an enjoy every minute of it.

“Tonight, we came out with the win, so I'm happy about it.”

And while he has suffered emotionally, late on Saturday night’s game, his pain became physical — the 30-year-old suffering cramping in both calves as the Supercats pounced.

“I knew I had to just play it out — it was a do-or-die kind of thing,” he said.

“I wasn't going to sit out and watch us lose.”

George (20 points) paid tribute to his team-mates.

“This group is unique,” he said.

“As long as we stick together and stay positive we can go all the way. We've got one more and it's the big dance in Melbourne. We're really looking forward to it.”