Wingers were once considered blokes who hung out with footballers. Now they’re key figures of a Back 5 unit that makes up a significant part of the preview every week. If you’re able to contain the 1-5 in yardage, you start to put a ceiling on what the spine can produce in try-scoring areas.

Greg Marzew has become one of the most prolific metre-eaters in the NRL averaging 186 metres per game. He’s crucial to Newcastle’s yardage sets and despite opposition teams circling him as a player to contain, his power to bump off defenders and leg drive to push through contact lay the foundations of a set. Dom Young is almost the opposite for his 166 metres per game. He’s evasive, and as he skips across the field, any lazy defender can be put on notice.

We know what to expect out of Dane Gagai by now.

The 339-game veteran centre consistently comes up with the big plays, and there isn’t an action in the game he’s not willing to execute. On the left edge, Bradman Best’s power through his hips is proving to be most effective around halfway as Ponga looks to skip into the four-man and put his centre one-on-one with the opposite halfback. It’s no coincidence that as Ponga dominates up the field, Best has cleared 130 running metres in each of his last three games and made clean line breaks in his last two.

Daniel Tupou and Mark Nawaqanitawase make up one of the best wing combinations in the competition. Tupou is incredibly reliable. He’s going to give you the strong yardage carries for 156 metres per game and is a cheat-code in the air near the line. I still have him down as one of the most underrated, or under-appreciated, players in the NRL era. Meanwhile, Nawaqanitawase is a walking highlight reel with 20 tries and seven try assists to his name this season. His skillset means the play is never dead while the ball is in his hands, and the sliding Knights defence will have their hands full containing him.

Robert Toia is similarly dangerous. His power and footwork can create something out of nothing in the blink of an eye. Best will have Toia’s right foot highlighted on the tip sheet for Sunday. While injuries have been a consistent issue for Billy Smith throughout his career, we’re starting to see the best of him following a lengthy stint - by his standards - on the field. The left-arm carry into right-arm fend will be on full display if he’s given a chance near the line.

Kalyn Ponga v James Tedesco will determine a lot of the match, though.

Not so much who dominates, but who is allowed to dominate. The hard work will have been done by the time either fullback is able to influence the scoreboard.

If the Knights can generate momentum and allow Ponga to skip across the field and dig into the defenders he wants, opportunities will open up for those outside him. He’s finally been able to spend a decent amount of time on the field, and those around him are now picking up on the cues he creates.

Tedesco will be more of an influence closer to the play-the-ball. He pushes up at the slightest sign of a quick ruck to take on a retreating line himself, or by tipping a teammate into a momentum play a pass wider. There isn’t a fullback better at sniffing out opportunities on the back of others.

Ponga is in arguably the best form of his career while Tedesco’s longevity as an elite player in the competition continues to extend.

When we sit here on Monday breaking down how either team won the game, it’s more than likely we’re doing it with one of these two wearing the Clive Churchill Medal.

There is no competition here; Sam Walker and Daly Cherry-Evans are the far superior pair on paper. What Walker lacks in experience, Cherry-Evans makes up for it with how he can control as set. As age takes its toll on what Cherry-Evans can produce with the ball, Walker perhaps already exceeds what the veteran has ever been able to do.

But we can’t ignore what Fletcher Sharpe and Sandon Smith have done over the last three weeks. Smith, in particular, came up with the big moments to beat the Penrith Panthers in the Preliminary Final, and Sharpe is always threatening.

Walker and Cherry-Evans will bring the more systematic approach. Nothing rattles them, and when in doubt, they know the points on the field they want to work towards and the shape to play off them. Walker is becoming known as an ad-lib style player who produces unexpected plays, but they’re within the Roosters plan. We might be surprised by the kick through traffic on the third tackle, but his team mates in pursuit of the ball aren’t.

The lack of traditional organising half experience doesn’t apply to Smith and Sharpe. This is one of the most expansive and instinctive attacking teams I’ve seen in a long time, and it’s on the back of their halves being given a license to play whatever is in front of them.

Just last week, the Panthers gave the Knights three from the middle of the field and a winger off back for a kick in their first attacking set of the second half - with 12 men - and Smith took it to kickstart an excellent team try. The Panthers gave them a slightly appealing look, and the Knights ran away with it.

We’ve only covered the attacking side of the ball, though. It’s in defence where these four will perhaps play the biggest role. All four will be targets in the line for the opposition.

Smith isn’t a good defender in contact while Sharpe isn’t a lot better as he continues to adjust to the rigours of defending in the front line at NRL level. For the Roosters, Walker is a smaller body and Cherry-Evans has 378 games of video against him for Justin Holbrook to pick up on his tendencies - notably biting on leads.

Tackle counts for all four halves will be something to keep an eye on in the early stages of this one.

Underestimate the Knights pack at your own will. They’ve proven that, despite being without a handful of key players, it won’t be easy to bully them through the middle.

Losing Phoenix Crossland is another factor. He’s not going to be mentioned among the most dynamic and deceptive attacking dummy-halves in the NRL, but he’s a key cog in the Knights defensive line and so often leads their line-speed when defending in deep yardage.

Regardless of who in on the field at any one time, the recipe has been the same the Knights throughout the finals:

“If Holbrook can get his team up for the game physically, their long-range attack can play a part in this one. They’ve made a habit out of scoring from inside their own half this season.” - Rabbitohs v Knights Preview

Tyson Frizell brings the experience and will lead the way physically. Cody Hopwood is 20 years old and only 18 games into his NRL career, but can be trusted in a big spot. He isn’t expected to play huge minutes and can throw everything into the early exchanges.

Harrison Graham played a season-high 65 minutes against the Warriors in Round 26. He’s now tasked with the role of primary dummy half with no experienced cover behind him. Whether or not Holbrook tries to get him through the full 80 minutes, how he manages his motor and gets through the work will be crucial to Newcastle’s middle on both sides of the ball.

Jermaine McEwen and Francis Manuleleua² have become a destructive edge pairing over the back end of the season. Linebreaks or pushing up through the middle on breaks wider have featured in the highlights, but keep an eye on who is playing the ball before those linebreaks.

The Knights are looking for the momentum carry, and it’s often their backrowers producing. Mat Croker - the most improved player in the NRL this season - is then on hand to take another carry through the middle or get the ball quickly into the hands of his spine players.

Not being bullied in the middle has allowed the Knights to play their best football in September, but they face the biggest bullies in the playground on Sunday.

Naufahu Whyte is a handful on both sides of the ball as one of the best props in the NRL. Like the Knights back rowers, look for how often Whyte is producing the carry and play-the-ball leading to dangerous attacking actions. Lindsay Collins is the opposite. He won’t carry the numbers away from this game if it plays out how the Roosters want it. Instead, he will lead the Roosters line-speed, be the first contact in the kick chase, and apply kick pressure at the back end of sets.

Reece Robson has an attacking threat to his game the Knights need to honour around the ruck, but he’s another figure in defence we should be tracking. As Newcastle look to complete their long shift from one side to the other, how Robson moves in the middle is worth noting. Do the Roosters look to slide in response, or apply pressure to get the ball out of the attacking players hands sooner?

As somebody that questioned Siua Wong defensively to start his NRL career, he’s come along leaps and bounds this season. Now an 80-minute starting backrower, he’s earned the trust of Trent Robinson in a crucial position. Salesi Foketi, on the other hand, has been on my radar as a first grader for a long time. He has the motor to play in the middle, the movement to be out on the edge, and the ball-playing to spot up as a link man when required.

Finally, and I’m glad he made it through the Preliminary Final without a meeting with the judiciary, Victor Radley will play a massive role in this one. He still gets a bit wrong, but his aggression will produce a big moment - good or bad - at some point in the opening 20 minutes. As the game opens up, his ability to move the ball to the spine will lead the Roosters attack. As far as sneaky Clive Churchill Medal winners go, he’s the rough pick.

The six-man bench change is still up for debate¹ but it does pay off for a Grand Final. Just as important as providng impact off the bench is the ability to cover multiple situations.

Fletcher Hunt, Dylan Lucas, Hugo Savala and Cody Ramsey all earn their place through versatility. There isn’t an early injury to the backline either team can’t cover. One of those isn’t like the others, though. Lucas will feature regardless of injury and adds another attacking option off the bench if the Knights fall behind.

Connor Watson has the Roosters covered in the middle. He is strong enough defensively that Robinson doesn’t have to worry too much about being small, but he can add a lot to the attack if they’re chasing points late in the game. Elsewhere in the expected rotation, Angus Crichton is two games into his return from injury and can provide a high-quality stint off the bench. It’s not often you can call on somebody of Crichton’s quality to fill 30 minutes. Similarly, Nat Butcher has made a career out of his reliability in Robinson’s side whether it’s big minutes, limited minutes, in the middle or on the edge.

In contrast to the consistency and reliability of Crichton and Butcher, Spencer Leniu brings the fire with the risk of flaming out. On his day, he can turn a match upside down with his carries off the bench, but his limitations to what he brings to the side are captured best by the fact he’s not played more than 40 minutes in a match since Round 21, and didn’t even get on the field in the Preliminary Final.

Lachlan Crouch has become a personal favourite in recent weeks. There isn’t any nuance to his game. He’s straight up and down, but with what the Knights are lacking due to injury right now, Crouch is providing exactly what Holbrook needs despite only having 11 first grade appearances to his name. Pasami Saulo is here due to injuries elsewhere. He’s not often been part of Holbrook’s plan and has only played spells of 23 minutes in the last two matches. His job will be simple: run hard and tackle hard.

Thomas Cant is the interesting one and a possibly a key player on the day. He’s not featured in either of the last two games but will be line to play some dummy half in this one with Crossland out. It’s easy to forget he filled in there against the Warriors in Round 26. His time on the field corresponded with a period of Warriors dominance which led to multiple Knights yardage sets (where halves often play dummy half), so Cant didn’t make too many passes himself.

Lastly, Diesel Hagan³ could play one of the most notable roles in Grand Final history if he makes his NRL debut for the Knights on Sunday. I’d imagine Holbrook has a Plan A to cover a few minutes at hooker without blooding a rookie, but if Graham goes down early, he might not have another choice but to break the glass and send out the 19-year-old on the biggest stage.