It is so near, yet so far.
The Penrith Panthers are just 80 minutes away from their first Grand Final appearance in more than a decade, but there is a formidable opponent standing in their way this Saturday night at ANZ Stadium.
Canterbury have surprised most by their Finals form so far, defeating the highly fancied Melbourne in week one and getting rid of Manly, albeit in closer circumstances, last weekend.
The Bulldogs now have the chance to qualify for the Grand Final from seventh position, a remarkable feat and one that is incredibly surprising given their results prior to the Finals.
Penrith sat back and watched last weekend, enjoying a well-deserved rest before they enter the cauldron on Saturday evening. They would have been encouraged by the closeness of the game and the fact it went into golden point – every little bit of advantage you can get is critical in games like this.
That’s why the Panthers trained behind closed doors at ANZ Stadium on Tuesday, to get a feel for a venue they have so rarely played at.
Penrith would be buoyed by the fact they’ve already beaten the Bulldogs twice this season – once thanks to a Matt Moylan conversion after the siren at Penrith Stadium, and once in more comfortable circumstances at ANZ Stadium.
Truth is none of that really matters come 7.55pm Saturday night.
No matter what you’ve done all season, or even last weekend, it all comes down to 80 minutes of football.
If you’ve managed to get here, you deserve it, but to be honest it doesn’t really matter how you did it or what hurdles you had to jump.
The Bulldogs were helped this week with news that Michael Ennis and Josh Jackson had escaped penalty over incidents in last week’s 17-16 win over Manly, avoiding possible suspensions and a disrupted preparation. Coach Des Hasler already has his work cut out for him, admitting that his side would mainly rest and recover in the first half of the week before getting into serious preparations in the latter stages of the build-up.
Penrith coach Ivan Cleary has been able to structure his build-up in a more comfortable manner, and there can be no questioning the fitness of the players that will run out on Saturday night.
The halves battle is the big key here. Trent Hodkinson had a special game last weekend while Josh Reynolds appears to have calmed down somewhat and is playing the reliable, energetic role that he was prior to the State of Origin series.
On the Penrith side of the fence, Jamie Soward has without doubt lapped up the attention and focus in the past two weeks, something that has been well deserved given his form on the field.
Soward will again lead the show this weekend with Will Smith taking a back seat against the club he made his debut against in round 21.
Penrith will not shake-up their game plan too much this weekend – the overall goal of competing for 80 minutes and never giving up will remain the same.
The side will be looking to increase the speed of their play-the-balls – something that was a little off against the Roosters a fortnight ago – and will need to watch their discipline, as I doubt the Bulldogs will give up as much ball as the Roosters did in the opening weekend of the Finals.
The Panthers welcome back Adam Docker from suspension, a much-needed boost to the side’s forward pack, and he will certainly be refreshed and revived after three weeks on the sideline.
A lot of what happens on Saturday night will come down to what the players believe can and should happen.
The big occasion this is should not be lost on them or played down. After almost 50 seasons in top grade football, Penrith has only reached the big one three times. This group has a chance to make history.
Tip: Panthers by 8
