Broncos, Maroons and Test great Petero Civoniceva said league fans should forget what has taken place over the last 25 weeks when it comes time to finding a premier from among the teams in the NRL finals.
Civoniceva, who was part of the Brisbane teams that won the 1998 and 2006 premierships but missed the 2000 decider through injury, said a side's form heading into September meant little.
"Whether your side has had a good run into the finals or has gone through a bad patch of form, it doesn't matter," Civoniceva told this week’s edition of Big League magazine.
"Teams need to have the mindset of leaving the regular season behind to focus on putting in their best 80-minute performance in week one of the finals."
Civoniceva referenced his personal experiences with the Broncos to detail how strong form heading into the finals was no guarantee of success.
"In 1998, the Broncos were the dominant team for majority of the season. We'd lost just five games all season and won the minor premiership and then went on to win the grand final," he said.
"Our premiership-winning campaign in 2006 was completely different to 1998. We limped into the finals and didn't have much confidence, but we managed to turn things around when the post-season came around.
"This shows that you can win the competition no matter what your form heading in the finals series, which will give all eight teams confidence this year."
Unsurprisingly, Civoniceva rates his beloved Broncos as a good chance to work their way towards the grand final.
While predicting a Brisbane-South Sydney grand final, Civoniceva said the Sydney Roosters also deserved to be in the equation.
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