St George Illawarra will face South Sydney in a dream semi-final in what shapes as a historic weekend of finals in the NRL era.
Not only will it be the first time the Dragons face the foundation club in a finals match since their merger in 1999, but Penrith also have a first finals date with Cronulla in the other semi.
The Panthers and Sharks entered the competition at the same time in 1967.
The Dragons will have to do so without skipper Gareth Widdop, who re-injured his shoulder in Sunday’s elimination final win over Brisbane and is likely out for the rest of the finals.
The early diagnosis is more positive for forward Jack de Belin, who came off with an ankle injury but is expected to recover in time to take on the Rabbitohs.
Prop James Graham should also be right to play after suffering a game-ending concussion.
The contest at ANZ Stadium could eclipse the record 36,084 crowd between the two sides set in a Charity Shield fixture back in 2002.
Incredibly, the Dragons will enter the match in superior form, with their finals rout of the Broncos giving them three wins in their past four games.
In contrast, the Rabbitohs have now dropped four of their past five.
Cronulla have also been beset by injury, with star second-rower Wade Graham tearing his ACL six weeks after suffering a medial ligament tear in the same knee.
The Sharks take on the Panthers at Allianz Stadium, where they could also threaten to break their highest crowd figure between the two sides of 25,004 at the SCG in 1978.