In the end, it ended in disappointment for Port Macquarie Shark Luke Ackroyd and son Bailey at ANZ Stadium on Sunday.

The two Melbourne Storm supporters had hoped Billy Slater’s final match for the Victorians would end in celebration, but ultimately it wasn’t to be.

You can’t win them all.

Still, Ackroyd was privileged to have attended the match with his six-year-old son.

“I loved being there, but it was sad to see him (Slater) go,” he said.

Younger son Flynn and the rest of the family didn’t let a chance go by when the two downcast Storm fans finally arrived home.

“I only came home to a Roosters poster on the fridge so I was a bit surprised,” Ackroyd said.

“But what I’ve taught my boys is to win graciously and lose with dignity; own the result.

“The Roosters were just too good.”

He didn’t have any issue with the highly-publicised reception Slater received from the pro-Roosters crowd.

“That didn’t bother me at all because I see it as a bit of a back-handed kind of respect,” he said.

“Wally Lewis used to get booed all the time in Sydney, so that tells you what kind of company Billy is in.”

The father of two was also impressed with the courage Roosters halfback Cooper Cronk showed in playing with a 15-centimetre break in his scapula.

“To play with that is amazing; it was the best performance I’ve seen since Allan Langer,” he said.

“I was waiting for them to give him a water bottle and a yellow shirt.”