South Sydney and the Broncos will meet for the 35th time since 1998 but never before have the Rabbitohs lined up against one of their favourite sons, former skipper Adam Reynolds.
The return of Reynolds to Accor Stadium on Thursday night is sure to put bums on seats after the 31-year-old missed the season opener in March due to COVID-19 protocols.
While all eyes will be on the former premiership-winner's comeback to the hallow turf, both sides are coming off victories in round eight and are four wins and four losses each to start the season.
Brisbane have turned a corner in recent weeks, particularly in defence, to upset the Sharks and jag a win over the Bulldogs. They'll head into this clash looking to win three games in a row for the first time since May, 2019.
The Rabbitohs got over their shock loss to the Wests Tigers with a 40-22 win over the Sea Eagles on the Central Coast last start, but did play against 12 men for the majority of the contest after Karl Lawton's first half send off.
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The Rundown
Team news
Rabbitohs: A few late changes for the Bunnies. Tom Burgess is out with Davvy Moale promoted to start after he came in for Hame Sele. Trent Peoples will make his NRL debut off the bench. Isaiah Tass keeps his spot in the centres with Taane Milne returning from suspension to take the place of Josh Mansour. Peter Mamouzelos is the new 18th man.
Broncos: There are no late changes for the visitors. Jake Turpin won't return this week after he was dropped out of the squad. Payne Haas and Kurt Capewell have been replaced in the run-on side by Patrick Carrigan and TC Robati with the Broncos unchanged from the side that was named earlier in the week.
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Key match-up
Lachlan Ilias v Adam Reynolds: The master and the apprentice go head-to-head in the battle of the halfbacks after Ilias worked under Reynolds for two seasons. Although the real match up will be Reynolds against his old mate Cody Walker on the same edge, Ilias is getting more comfortable in the No.7 jersey eight weeks into the competition. Reynolds has started to find his own groove at Red Hill, playing a huge part in the Broncos' latest wins.
Stat attack
The Rabbitohs are dominating the post-metres this season with 4,957 to start the year. Brisbane aren't too far behind on 4,577 with Broncos prop Payne Haas leading the competition with 532 alone. South Sydney's best is Keaon Koloamatangi (420) and Campbell Graham (409) on the right edge.
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