The tough and elusive centre sees similarities in the way the two Bulldogs sides advanced to the big dance.
Both editions did it the hard way after inconsistent seasons.
Then known as the Sydney Bulldogs, Timu's team finished the regular season in sixth spot. Today's team have taken a similar path, after dropping down the standings in the later rounds to claim seventh position.
"I've been watching the finals and enjoying watching the Doggies. It's quite classic that they came in at the position and they've managed to get themselves through to the grand final through just grafting it out," Timu said from a remote fishing location in the Marlborough Sounds.
"We were the last team to qualify and we didn't have a week off, which in a way was quite good for us. We won our first match against St George and our next games against Brisbane and Canberra and then we were on a roll and it was good to be playing every week.
"We had nothing to lose really and in a way it takes the pressure off you a bit and we just clicked at the right time of the year."
Timu made the move to Sydney in late 1994, after the end of the All Blacks' test season, and says his first season with the Bulldogs was something to remember.
To beat Manly 17-4 in the grand final made it all the more special and the 45-year-old has nothing but fond memories of his three-year stint at the Belmore-based club.
"I only played league for six years and three of them were at the Dogs, and I've certainly got a soft spot for them. At the time there were a few Kiwis there -- Jarrod McCracken, Daryl Halligan and Jason Williams -- and it was a good family club.
"Peter 'Bullfrog' Moore, the CEO, liked to see the Bulldogs as a family-oriented club and it really was."
Timu played 50 matches, including 26 tests, for the All Blacks and credits legendary Bulldogs skipper Terry Lamb with assisting in his rapid development in the 13-man code.
"It was a huge honour to play with Terry. Buck Shelford had a huge influence on me as a young rugby player and just as a budding league player, to have the guidance of someone like Baa [Lamb], I sort of held him in the same sort of mana in rugby league terms.
Making the change to league was a difficult decision, particularly with the 1995 Rugby World Cup on the horizon, but Timu said he felt the timing was right.
"I was 25 and felt I was getting stale and finding it hard to motivate myself for union, although the Rugby World Cup was a big motivator.
"But I thought I might be little bit too far down the track if I left it another 12 months and I wanted to give it a decent crack."
Timu threw himself into training but knew he would need to prove himself in games to earn the respect of his new teammates.
"I thought it was important that I get over there and do the hard work over the off-season.
"It really was a shock to the system to find out how hard they trained, so I was thankful that I did go over early. When they see someone working really hard over the off-season that's all good, that might tick one box, but it really comes down to it when you get out and start playing matches.
"I like to think I contributed to the team and guys like Terry and Dean Pay, who was a Kangaroo at the time, Darren Britt and Jason Hetherington, they really did take me under their wing because they realised I wasn't there to muck around."
These days Timu has a building business in Wanaka and is kept busy with a young family.
He was hoping to make it home from his fishing trip in time to take in the grand final, but believes his beloved Doggies are up against it.
"Souths are red-hot favourites but there's a lot of fight in that Canterbury side so it should be a good old ding-dong battle.
"My heart would love the Doggies to get up, but I think they are in for a tough day at the office."
- By David Skipwith of the New Zealand Herald
