Melbourne fullback Billy Slater says Jarryd Hayne's stunning form has inspired him to his own career-best form.

As the game's two best No.1s prepare to go head-to-head in the NRL grand final next Sunday, Slater says watching Hayne lift his game to a remarkable new level in 2009 has given him the spark to fire in the finals.

And along with Hayne, Slater is the hottest player in the competition.

Slater's double in the 40-10 thumping of Brisbane took his tally to eight tries in his last four games.

It is the best tryscoring run by the brilliant No.1 since he started the 2005 NRL season with seven tries in four games.

While Hayne's form over the second half of the season led Parramatta to an unlikely grand final and the game's highest accolade of the Dally M medal, it has had the double-edged sword effect of getting Slater in a similar frame of mind.

"I suppose it sparks you up a little bit," Slater told AAP.

"He has been going great. He has certainly sparked rugby league and the finals series and even before that.

"There's always been great fullbacks in form, not just this year but last year and the year before.

"There is a lot of fullbacks in good form right now and Jarryd Hayne is probably at the top of the bunch.

"Certainly you look at all the other players in your position and you feed off them, you take little things that they're doing well and you try and incorporate them into your game and just try to improve yourself as a footy player."

The exciting brilliance of both players will be one of the major highlights of the 2009 grand final and the game is almost certain to be billed as a Hayne versus Slater battle.

Slater accepts that he and Hayne will attract plenty of attention in the lead-up to the ANZ Stadium decider, but says the two people least interested in the clash will be the men involved.

The two fullbacks are unlikely to cross paths on the field, Slater saying his only interest in Hayne is of his occasional kicking game.

"I suppose it will be talked up (as Hayne versus Slater) but at the end of the day Jarryd and I probably won't even come into contact," he said.

"I didn't touch (Brisbane fullback) Karmichael Hunt until I shook his hand at the end of the game.

"It's a great talking point and we do play in the same position but I will be more conscious of (Daniel) Mortimer and (Jeff) Robson and the kickers.

"I will be doing my homework on them guys. I suppose Jarryd Hayne is in that bunch as he does a fair bit of their kicking but I don't do too much so I'm sure he won't be too worried about me.

"He has been playing some great football and is one that we're going to have to really contain if we're going to go on to win the grand final."

And while Slater is proud of reaching his fourth straight grand final with the Storm, he says the pain of last year's 40-0 loss to Manly will motivate them to go one better in 2010.

"It's a great feeling to make a grand final but we know what it was like to lose one last year and we don't want that feeling again," he said.

BILLY SLATER (Melbourne)
Age: 26
Height: 178cm
Weight: 89kg

Career Stats
Games: 156
Tries: 101
Honours: 6 Tests for Australia, 11 Origins for Queensland

2009 Stats
Games: 25
Tries: 17 (6th in NRL)
Try assists: 19 (12th in NRL)
Linebreaks: 22 (4th in NRL)
Linebreak assists: 19 (5th in NRL)
Tackle breaks: 160 (2nd in NRL)

JARRYD HAYNE (Parramatta)
Age: 21
Height: 188cm
Weight: 96kg

Career Stats
Games: 84
Tries: 49
Honours: 1 Test for Australia, 8 Origins for NSW, 2009 Dally M Medallist

2009 Stats
Games: 25
Tries: 14 (11th in NRL)
Try assists: 15 (16th in NRL)
Linebreaks: 32 (1st in NRL)
Linebreak assists: 7 (48th in NRL)
Tackle breaks: 178 (1st in NRL)