The Canberra Raiders are on the verge of securing a top-four finals spot for the first time in 13 years, but their journey to an NRL revival started 12 months ago in a round-26 dead rubber against the Parramatta Eels.
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The Green Machine is preparing to play their final game of the season in front of more than 20,000 fans in what would be the biggest crowd in the capital in four years.
But Raiders coach Ricky Stuart says his players are avoiding the hype to ensure they maintain their focus and continue a winning run into the play-offs.
It's a massive turnaround from when the Raiders played the Eels in a golden-point thriller at Parramatta in the last round of the season 12 months ago.
Both teams were out of finals contention, but the Raiders made a statement when Josh Hodgson scored in extra time to lay down a marker for their 2016 intentions.
"We haven't achieved anything this year yet, but where we are at the moment has been three years of work," Stuart said.
"Finishing the season the way we did last year was part of the plan to creating momentum to come into this year and the season ahead.
"We knew what we were building. But I repeat: we haven't done anything yet, we haven't achieved a thing because we've got a long way to go on our journey."
The Raiders have beaten the top two sides – Cronulla and Melbourne – in the past two weeks, but the controversy-stricken Eels present a new challenge for Canberra.
The Eels have bounced from drama to drama this year off the field and were stripped of 12 competition points following a salary cap scandal.
The Eels are 14th on the ladder and out of finals contention again. But the memory of being stung 36-6 at Parramatta Stadium earlier this year will ensure the Raiders don't drop their guard.
"The one thing that we have in our culture is that we don't listen to the hype," Stuart said.
"If you do that, you take your eyes off the job. Parramatta have some very good football players, an experienced team and very talented attacking team.
"They posess a number of players who can create a bit of havoc so we have to be good at what we want to do."
The Raiders play the Eels, Manly Sea Eagles and Wests Tigers in their final three games of the regular season.
They have already secured their return to the finals for the first time since 2012, but beating the Eels comes with the extra carrot of guaranteeing a top-four position.
Finishing in the top four gives clubs a double chance in the finals as well as the opportunity to advance straight into a grand final qualifier.
Stuart has rebuilt the culture in Canberra and as re-signed most of his playing squad for the coming years.
Former Eels prop Junior Paulo made a mid-year switch from Parramatta to Canberra and the Raiders environment has helped him become a consistent wrecking ball.
"The first part of [Paulo's] transition was about making his family and lifestyle comfortable," Stuart said.
"That's a big part of playing good football and being consistent. The club tried to make his transition to Canberra as comfortable as possible.
"A big part of my job is making sure home life and lifestyle is comfortable. You can't play well if you can't practice well, and I'm seeing that transferred to game-day performance.
"We're pretty down to earth with our coaching, we're not working on a science-based game plan. We know what works well for our players and we need them to practice well."
More than 15,000 fans watched the Raiders beat Melbourne in Canberra on Monday night and the club's on-field resurgence is set to attract a bumper crowd again.
NRL ROUND 24
Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Parramatta Eels at Canberra Stadium. Tickets available from Ticketek. TV time: Live on Fox Sports 1.
