Finals football has arrived, which means the Townsville Blackhawks and Brisbane Tigers can forget everything that happened during the regular season.
When these two sides meet at Jack Manski Oval, there will be no second chance and absolutely no room for anyone to be wondering where they left their finals form.
For Townsville, this is familiar territory.
The Blackhawks are appearing in the finals for the eighth time in club history, and for the second consecutive year.
They have built plenty of momentum heading into September, winning seven of their last nine games, with one draw thrown in for good measure.
The Tigers, meanwhile, are back in the finals for the 19th time, and their first appearance since 2023.
The last meeting certainly won't fill the Tigers with confidence.
Back in Round 12, Townsville travelled south and returned home with a rather convincing 44-16 victory at Totally Workwear Stadium.
There is also finals history between the clubs.
The last finals meeting came in the 2017 Elimination Final, when the Tigers survived 20-16 at Totally Workwear Stadium.
Before that, the last finals match at Jack Manski Oval was the 2016 Elimination Final, when Townsville absolutely destroyed the Tigers 46-4.
Which means the Tigers have two options here: remember 2017 or remember 2016.
One is considerably more comforting than the other.
Townsville also has a strong recent record against Brisbane, winning four of the last five meetings between the sides.
At Jack Manski, the Blackhawks have won five of the last six, although there is one very important little footnote: the Tigers won the last game there in Round 7 this year.
So perhaps Brisbane has finally worked out the secret formula.
Or perhaps Townsville has spent the past few months quietly making notes.
The Blackhawks also enter the contest having won their last three at home, while the Tigers have shown they aren't exactly frightened by a road trip, winning two of their last three away games.
And then there is Dudley Dotoi.
The Townsville flyer is once again sitting at the top of the competition's try-scoring charts, having crossed for 23 tries.
Even more impressively, this is the second consecutive season Dotoi has finished as the competition's leading try scorer.
But finals football has a funny way of making statistics irrelevant.
A team's previous nine games don't matter. Neither does the Round 12 scoreline.
History can provide confidence, but it doesn't score tries.
For the Tigers, this is a chance to make their return to the finals count.
For Townsville, it's another opportunity to prove that their recent form isn't just a northern Queensland weather event.
One team gets another week.
The other gets a very early start to watching everyone else's finals campaign.
This weekend’s broadcasted match is shaping to be anyone’s game and the only way to catch all the action live and free is via Qplus.tv.
