Never have the NRL's contenders been so far ahead of the pretenders. Never have we seen such a disparity between the best and the rest. The bottom half of the eight are just making up the numbers.

But as the Newcastle Knights hooker stepped onto a makeshift stage on Lang Park's pristine surface on Monday morning to launch the NRL finals series, he knew one thing.

"We know ourselves, we haven't hit our ceiling," Brailey said.

Newcastle enter the finals series with the worst points differential of the eight teams left standing at -143, while the eighth-placed Gold Coast secured a place with a 10-14 win-loss record.

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The Knights face Parramatta in Rockhampton on Sunday. Lose and they pack their bags for a return home. Win and they face a top four team in week two.

They boast the strike power of Kalyn Ponga and Bradman Best, the experience of Mitchell Pearce, gun forwards like Daniel Saifiti and Tyson Frizell. But even so, they're cannon fodder for a top four team, right?

"That's what all the outside noise says, and to their credit the top six, the top four especially, have played some really good, consistent football all year," Brailey said.

"It's a completely different competition, you've just got to get in there and give yourself a shot in the eight and we've done that. We'll grab that opportunity with both hands, fix things up through the week, and hopefully execute come Sunday.

"Without a doubt, we've got a lot of belief and confidence in our side.

"We've found ways to win, a lot of them haven't been pretty but we found ways to win. If you look at our side, we've got a whole lot of talent. At the end of the day, we've just got to put it together on Sunday, because we know what we're capable of and we've just got to execute."

Few teams in history have been able to consistently execute quite like reigning premiers Melbourne, who claimed a fifth J. J. Giltinan Shield on the back of a league record-equalling run of 19 consecutive wins.

The safe bet is to say the Storm will defend their title in a grand final rematch against the Penrith Panthers. Perhaps only a Tom Trbojevic-inspired Manly can upset those plans.

Latrell Mitchell's season-ending suspension is supposed to put a line through South Sydney. The Sydney Roosters are supposed to be missing too much class - it's a miracle they still have their heads above water.

Parramatta stunned Melbourne a fortnight ago but beyond that have been on the slide. Newcastle and the Titans are already considered also-rans.

But then Storm co-captain Dale Finucane casts his mind back to his side's 2017 premiership.

"The Cowboys, they came from eighth position to make the grand final," Finucane said.

"It's anyone's game at this time of year and there is eight genuine contenders in the competition. The minor premiership is obviously a reward for being the most consistent side in the competition, but it is a new competition. It starts again.

"We've put ourselves in a good position, and regardless of what happens this weekend, you give yourself two opportunities which is obviously helpful. But you only need a little bit of luck in these four games to go your way and that's all it takes."

The first team standing in Melbourne's way is Manly, anchored to the bottom of the table after a winless opening month before Dally M medal favourite Trbojevic sparked a remarkable reversal.

"I won't be naive to compare this side to any Manly side in the past that has won a premiership," skipper Daly Cherry-Evans said.

"Quite frankly it doesn't really mean much, the style of footy you play, unless you come out on top at the end. That's the ultimate goal. Hopefully we can put ourselves in that sort of category with the great Manly teams of the past."

NRL FINALS SERIES WEEK ONE

Friday: Melbourne Storm (1st) v Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (4th) at Sunshine Coast Stadium, 7.50pm.

Saturday: Sydney Roosters (5th) v Gold Coast Titans (8th) at North Queensland Stadium, 5.40pm; Penrith Panthers (2nd) v South Sydney Rabbitohs (3rd) at North Queensland Stadium, 7.50pm.

Sunday: Parramatta Eels (6th) v Newcastle Knights (7th) at Browne Park, Rockhampton, 4.05pm.

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