Stat Attack: Four recent grand final winners face off
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All four clubs left in the Telstra Premiership have won the competition in the last five years, highlighting the benefit of finals experience when it comes to key moments - particularly in a competition as wide open as it is in 2018.
Both Rabbitohs playmaker Adam Reynolds and Sharks playmaker Chad Townsend kicked their sides to victory over the weekend, with their history of playing finals football on show in the clutch moments.
Minor premiers the Sydney Roosters have just five players left from their 2013 grand final side, but have since added the finals and representative experience of Luke Keary, Cooper Cronk, James Tedesco and Blake Ferguson to their line-up. They currently boast 140 games of finals experience.
Eight players from the premiership-winning Rabbitohs team of 2014 are still in the South Sydney side, including the Burgess brothers, Greg Inglis and Reynolds.
The Bunnies field the least experienced team of the four in terms of finals games, with 101 finals appearances between them, but young guns Cameron Murray and Angus Crichton have shown maturity beyond their experience to combat that this finals series.
Cronulla used their stern defensive style in 2016 to grind out a grand final victory over Melbourne and still have nine players from that side (excluding injured star Wade Graham) who are set to take on the Storm in this week's preliminary final.
The big-game experience has worked wonders for Valentine Holmes, Sosaia Feki and Chad Townsend alongisde veterans Luke Lewis, Paul Gallen and Andrew Fifita, with the current Cronulla side having played in 131 finals games in total.
Defending premiers Melbourne will go into Friday night's preliminary final with 13 of their grand final side from last season's win. Despite losing Cronk, Tohu Harris and Slade Griffin to rival clubs this season, they boast the most finals experience of any of the remaining clubs with 160 games.
