Umpiring in the middle that day was a rosy-cheeked, 22-year-old Garry Kaine - the same man who will officiate the two sides in Saturday's NTFA premier division grand final.

This time around, the 57-year-old will share the whistle with son Nick and four-time NTFA grand final whistleblower Hayden Shepherd.

The occasion will mark the senior Kaine's seventh-straight NTFA top-tier decider and his tenth overall.

"I think it just comes down to wanting to do your best all the time and not taking anything for granted," Garry said of his extraordinary run at the top level.

"Obviously [umpiring with Nick] is a big highlight - something that we've worked at and I've had a lot of time with Hayden, we go back a fair way as well.

"As a team I'd say we call ourselves friends and it's just good to be able to share a day with those people."

A TSL grand final umpire in 2009, Nick returned to the caper this year and has shown no rust in advancing to the NTFA's highest honour.

The 30-year-old said his dad had played a huge part in his umpiring career.

"It's a dream come true to be honest," Nick said.

"I had a few years away from the association due to work commitments but I watched Dad in the grand final last year and got a fire back in the belly.

"I came back, we worked hard over the preseason and sort of had this as a goal of ours to achieve, so this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we've worked extremely hard to get to."

ELSEWHERE IN SPORT

Shepherd's appointment came as a reward for hard work during the season and boasted a sentimental touch of its own.

"It's funny because Garry was my coach when I first started umpiring, so to do a grand final with my first coach when I first walked into training is absolutely fantastic," the 41-year-old said.

"I think this is something all three of us will look back on in five or 10 years time and go 'what a great grand final and how lucky we were to be a part of it'."

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