If you had said the St George Illawarra Dragons would play the Canterbury Bulldogs in the match of the round in front of a sold out Kogarah just a month out from the finals during the pre-season, you would have been laughed out of the building.
That's not an overstated cliche either.
That is the cold hard truth.
Neither the Dragons or Bulldogs were supposed to do anything more than fight for the top four this season, and yet, at this late stage of the campaign, both clubs find themselves in the running to play finals football.
From extraordinary coaching to recruitment wins and exemplary attitude, both of these teams have been built different in 2024 to the extent you can't see any other team outside of the pair winning the award for most improved, while their coaches - Shane Flanagan and Cameron Ciraldo - will also most certainly be among the nominations to take out coach of the year.
There are plenty of similarities between the two sides and the way they have managed to turn things around this season.
What is relatively clear is that, at this stage, the Bulldogs are a year ahead of the Dragons, who themselves are light years ahead of where most had them pegged at this early stage of their full scale rebuild under Flanagan.
There were plenty of eyebrows raised in the preseason over Canterbury's recruitment strategy. That goes without saying.
The club signed utility after utility, and it appeared they were in no better state to make a genuine push for finals rugby league this year than they were last year.
What wasn't bet on though was the fact director of football Phil Gould brought in players who were, no matter their position, going to shore up the defensive line right across the park for the blue and white.
It was imperative after years of defending poorly that Gould brought in experienced players who could defend, and it has worked a treat. Add that to the crucial signing of Josh Curran late in the off-season after he was handed a surprise release from the New Zealand Warriors, and you can understand why the Bulldogs have been far improved on that end of the park.
Coming into the game with the Dragons, they sit in fifth spot on the NRL ladder, but have conceded just 317 points. For much of the year, they have had the best defensive record in the competition, and while they have fallen just behind Penrith, they are still in second spot on that tally.
It's a miraculous turnaround for a club who have their fans up and about, and will play finals football with just one more win from their final five games. A top four spot could linger though given the form of the Cronulla Sharks just ahead of them.
If they are going to get there, it's going to be defence which will lead the way, and there is little doubt this weekend they will need to be at their best to shut down a full house early in the contest.
Ciraldo had some issues with the Bulldogs and the playing group last year around the way they were training - issues which became very public. Those issues have gone away this year though, and it's little surprise it came on the back of their pre-season signing spree.
The whole group as a collective would have worked, but then adding Stephen Crichton, who has become an exemplary captain for the club, and it has gone to a whole other level.
Crichton being named captain was another surprise at the start of the year, but it's another decision which goes to show Gould and Ciraldo know exactly what they are going at Belmore.
It's decisions like that which have reshaped the Bulldogs to be a club no one will want to face in the finals.
But the Dragons may be in a similar boat.
At their best this season, they have been outstanding under Shane Flanagan. Like the Bulldogs, pre-season signings saw eyebrows raised.
Corey Allan was signed only to miss the year, Raymond Faitala-Mariner was added on the back of his ugly exit from Belmore, and Kyle Flanagan, the coach's son, was signed to play the number six.
And yet, you could tell from the outset this was a different Dragons' side. Flanagan identified fitness as an issue last year, and with the exception of a couple of select players who we won't name, every single player in that Dragons side has risen to Flanagan's standard.
Don't think for a minute that hasn't been led by the signins.
Faitala-Mariner is among them, and so is Kyle Flanagan, who has been talked about positively by Ben Hunt.
It's Tom Eisenhuth who has really led the way though. Defending rock solidly week in and week out, the former Melbourne Storm player has brought standards to the club far beyond anything the Dragons have had in previous years.
On-field, consistency has been the Dragons' biggest issue this year. As mentioned, at their best, as they were in breaking that drought against Melbourne last week, they have looked close to unbeatable.
At their worst though, there have been some nightmarish games, and that is the next trick for Flanagan - to work on this side playing the same footy every single week.
That won't happen this year, but there is little doubt a finals appearance before heading into another off-season of hard work would be a mega boost for the red and white.
The fact of the matter is Kogarah has not been sold out in more than a decade.
On Saturday evening, the famous old hill is going to be rocking like it did during 2010, and with so much to play for, you can only hope both teams will rise to the occasion.
For two fan bases who have had nothing but pain for years on end, it's going to be electric.
By the end of it, we might just have an answer as to the coach of the year, the most improved club, and whose built different philosophy won out over the other.
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