NRL.com experts Brett Kimmorley and Steve Renouf have donned their coaching caps and provided a thorough rundown of what it will take to win, who the key players are and their all-important final instructions.
Renouf has put himself in Trent Robinson's shoes for Friday night's blockbuster, while Kimmorley is calling the shots for the Rabbitohs.
Plan of attack
Renouf
We've got a dominant pack and if we can hold Souths in the middle I think we'll have it over them with our backs. We've got Tedesco and Latrell, we've got Cronk and Keary, so I see us having the edge out wide. But we have to hold that middle first and foremost.
Kimmorley
We need a high completion rate and want to create some momentum through the middle of the park because our greatest strengths are Cameron Murray and Damien Cook. Murray's late footwork can cause problems and if Damien Cook can get at least five quality runs that might be dangerous enough for us to win.
Finals Week 1 - Munster and Keary return for finals
Plan in defence
Renouf
We're going to have to be strong and tight in the middle and we see Cody Walker as a key man for the Rabbitohs. If we can stop him and cut down his playing time it goes a long way toward stopping them altogether. If we can tire Walker and Reynolds in the middle we should be OK.
Kimmorley
We have to keep a close eye on where Luke Keary is and set our defence around that, especially when he's sneaking up the short sides. He's a massive part of their attack. If we can minimise James Tedesco's line breaks we've had a wonderful day out. We showed them the sideline last week and tackled them over the sideline on several occasions, and we've beaten them twice this year.
My key player
Renouf
We've got a few but the obvious one is Tedesco. If everything goes right in other areas of the game for us he's unstoppable. He loves the big stage and he'll be wanting to fire coming in this finals series.
Kimmorley
Murray needs to have a day out. He plays about 60 minutes a game and only weighs 90 kilos but if he can use his great footwork to create line breaks, that'll get the rest of our forwards on a roll and it'll create space for Cook, Walker and Reynolds.
Disappointed Burgess keen to move on
The opposition danger man
Renouf
The main threat is Walker. He's been playing some good footy of late and if he comes out in a confident mood and we let him get a good start he could have a big game. He's such a danger man in these games when the pressure is turned up.
Kimmorley
Tedesco's a freak and will probably get the Dally M Medal. He runs for over 200 metres regularly and he's been unbelievable in big games over the last 18 months, be it State of Origin or finals footy. He's a massive danger.
We will win if we ...
Renouf
Can be pretty strict with our kick-chase and work for field position. If we win that battle early and settle into our style of game we should be able to dominate.
Kimmorley
If we get 90% completions and give away less than 10 penalties we'll put ourselves in a great position to win.
Murray: Wayne’s been great for my game.
Final message
Renouf
Boys, you've been doing it well for most of the year and we don't have to do too much different. Keep doing what we've done all year, play your roles well and play to our strengths, and the rest will come from that.
Kimmorley
You've beaten this team twice in 2019 so hold no fear. Be as brutal as we were last week, frustrate them, and go out and enjoy the greatest rivalry our game has got.
