A champion team will always beat a team of champions.
Just look at Penrith, sure they've each become champions in their own individual right, however this is a football side that's been playing together through the juniors, the majority of their rugby league lives have been spent alongside one another.
It's a mantra Wayne Bennett must instil in the Dolphins, just as he did with Queensland in the 2020 State of Origin series.
At the time of writing, the Dolphins are currently the favourites to collect the wooden spoon among bookmakers, a lack of elite stars seeing the NRL's newest franchise plummet in the betting agency, with cellar dwellers Newcastle, the Warriors and the Dragons all shorter odds to win the premiership.
The Dolphins will go close to finishing above all three.
Bennett, amongst his playing groups over the years, has always been a favourite for his personal skills and attributes, protecting his players from the spotlight and absorbing the pressure and slander himself.
Players will get up to play under Wayne Bennett, they want to win for him. And when you're driven, it doesn't take superstars like Cameron Munster or Kalyn Ponga to win games.
It takes passion, it takes desire.
Wayne named a squad in 2020 considered the 'worst Queensland side in 40 years', a number of Maroons' stars injured or suspended, leaving the sunshine state thin on troops compared to their New South Wales counterparts.
Yet, weeks after being slandered from pillar to post for his selections, Bennett and his Maroons lifted the shield for the first time since Cameron Smith's rep retirement, and it wasn't because of his stars.
Queensland's Game III side had a backline featuring Corey Allan as well as both Brenko and Edrick Lee, names like Dunamis Lui, Jake Friend and Phillip Sami donned the jersey for the only time in their career over those three weeks.
Fringe stars like Josh Kerr and Hymel Hunt snuck into the 27-man squad.
The Blues had Nathan Cleary, James Tedesco, Boyd Cordner, Isaah Yeo, Junior Paulo, Damien Cook, and the fastest man on the planet, Josh Addo-Carr.
A champion team beats a team of champions.
Now, building this roster in Redcliffe has Bennett looking more 'Moneyball' than misguided, creating a mix of young budding stars and hardened veterans that simply know how to win.
Between the Dolphins growing roster, there's a whopping 17 Grand Final appearances, little things that go a long way into helping the likes of Isaiya Katoa and Valynce Te Whare grow from young guns with potential into certified stars.
The nearly 73 year-old SuperCoach has a knack of bringing players together, helping them bond and play for each other, instead of themselves.
Young stars Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Tom Gilbert have already tasted the Origin arena, as have many of their older heads, while the likes of Sean O'Sullivan will benefit from playing in the Penrith system.
Veterans that have been labelled as 'over the hill' will set the example at training, the young stars will supply energy and competitiveness while Bennett is the ribbon on top, guiding the club in an upward trajectory as he keeps them on track.
Similar to that 2020 Origin side, the Dolphins aren't blessed with superstars like their rivals, they have a handful compared to others, but they have direction, drive and hunger.
It might not be enough to guide them to the finals in their maiden season, but it's enough to see them avoid the top four and build a platform that future Dolphin sides can leapfrog from.
