Winning the Grand Final is all about peaking at the right end of the season. How many times have we seen teams dominate all year (Storm!?) only to fall short to a team hitting form when it counts most?
The 2009 season is especially famous for this. The Dragons, Bulldogs and to a lesser extent the Titans, were far and away the best teams across the regular rounds.
The Storm, in fourth, finished five points behind the table-topping Dragons and Broncos. The eighth-placed Eels were four points further back.
Both found form at the right end of the season and would meet in one of the most famous, and now infamous, Grand Finals of the modern era.
Obviously, both teams contesting this Sunday's Grand Final are in form. Two straight wins is the minimum requirement, but not every player is currently firing on all cylinders.
We look below at the five form players heading into the decider. These aren't necessarily the best players, but the players who enter in red, hot form and will likely decide the premiership.
Let us know below who you believe is entering the Grand Final as the form player of the competition.
2. Cameron Murray
The Bunnies lock has been nothing less than irresistible across two weeks of the finals series, and well before that.
He's run for 121 and 196 metres respectively against the Panthers and the Sea Eagles. He's also made 68 tackles, missing only two.
The Panthers have to stop Murray on Sunday. If he is allowed to make metres and play the ball quickly he makes everyone around him more dangerous, especially Damien Cook.
When Murray is rolling, Souths are rolling. His ability to break the line, produce an offload and most importantly win the ruck and play the ball quickly cannot be understated.
Most finals games are won in the middle. The Murray vs Yeo clash is mouth-watering. Both will play big minutes and I expect a big impact from both.
Right now Murray holds the slightest of edges, form-wise, over his direct opposite.
