If Parramatta need any additional belief they can cause a grand-final boilover, they may find inspiration from the cruellest day of their 36-year premiership drought.
In the 2001 grand final, Newcastle shocked the heavily fancied Eels in a first-half avalanche.
Rarely has a team dominated the season like Parramatta did that year, and Penrith's supremacy in the 2023 campaign bears some comparison.
The Eels finished five points ahead of their nearest rivals in 2001 and were clear favourites on the back of the greatest points-scoring season in history.
This year, Penrith ($1.37 favourites) have sat first in every round bar one, having seemed destined for back-to-back titles since March.
According to the TAB, no team has lost a grand final this century after being such clear favourites.
Parramatta in 2001 were the closest, starting the week at $1.45 odds before being beaten 30-24.
"We were a bit more relaxed than what Parramatta were at that time," Newcastle's 2001 coach Michael Hagan told AAP.
Hagan said he had seen several similarities with this year's Eels in the way Newcastle played - and approached the decider - in 2001.
"We gave ourselves a really strong chance internally, even though not many people externally gave us a hope," Hagan said.
"Maybe Parramatta feel a bit the same now.
"They have all the right components in the way they are playing, the key positions and their defence. Their timing is on the mark, that's for sure."
Parramatta's coach from 2001, Brian Smith, sees similarities between the way his Eels and the present-day Panthers play.
The DNA of Parramatta's 2001 run still exists in Penrith, with several support staff having featured at the Panthers during their three years of dominance.
"It's in the number of players who are playing back-to-back-to-back plays," Smith said.
"That's what sets them apart from other teams in this competition. And it reminds me that we were doing more of that sort of stuff."
But Smith concedes this Panthers team is on another level with the grand-final experience his side lacked, as they gun for back-to-back titles.
"I am in awe of those guys," Smith said.
"Their ability to repeat and their physical and mental toughness to do what they're doing puts them in a different league to our guys.
"We were in the top four but fell at various times. But they've not fallen for the third year in a row. That's a massive achievement."
If Parramatta are to do it, Hagan can see a way.
Pressuring Nathan Cleary is obvious, he says, as well as shutting down Penrith's back three.
He also points to Parramatta's athleticism and leg speed in their forwards as crucial in challenging Penrith after twice beating them this year.
"It's a bit of a point of difference to some teams," Hagan said.
"They have a bit of skill they can execute in the forwards, in the middle and on the edge.
"If you get the right momentum and the right opportunities, they can take advantage of the time and space better than most.
"You just have to be at your absolute best.
"Penrith don't deviate. Their first contact is always strong. Their line-speed is always strong.
"Parramatta have to be able to outlast them in that sense. It's all about patience and field position and all those things."
