The 28-year-old's rise from Fiji to bush footy in the NSW town of Gundagai is well-known after he was spotted by the late Canberra recruitment guru Peter Mulholland.

But his path to the NRL was only made possible because in the summer preceding the 2017 season, the Panthers' second-grade side were short on numbers.

Seeking to put on meaningful training sessions, their then coach Garth Brennan picked up the phone to Penrith's third-tier feeder club St Marys to fill the void.

Sivo, who had been let go by the Raiders' reserve grade side Mounties, was at a loose end, and all of a sudden Brennan had a "timid yet devastating" winger on his hands.

"He wasn't the Maika Sivo you see now who winds up from the backfield," Brennan told AAP.

"He was very shy but he was always fast, big and a fantastic finisher.

"He was so quietly spoken, almost stand-offish, but when he got into open space on the field you knew he was there."

Brennan explains that Sivo "hated the limelight" but received a standing ovation for singing a Fijian hymn as part of his initiation at the Panthers.

That season they went on to win a NSW Cup title with the likes of Viliame Kikau, Jarome Luai and Moses Leota in the Penrith side.

Unlike that trio, Sivo never got a crack at NRL level with the Panthers and their loss would prove to be the Eels' gain.

As Brennan says "clubs can be looking for the next big thing when sometimes it's right under their nose".

In his time with the Eels, the winger has registered a staggering 67 tries in 82 NRL games and gone on to gain cult-hero status.

"I didn't think I would ever end up here," Sivo said.

"It's an important week and an important game on Sunday, but I can't wait.

"I came a long way to be where I am now with this group of boys. There's one more to go.

"I hadn't watched one (NRL grand final before I came to Australia), now I'm in one."

Australian Associated Press