It's almost one year to the day Cooper Cronk gave Cameron Smith the cold shake.
And now the former teammates will take the NRL field for what could be the last time when the Sydney Roosters host Melbourne on Friday.
It was on the same oval ground in Adelaide last year when their friendship appeared to go pear-shaped when they exchanged pleasantries post-match.
Both players have since played down the incident, and Cronk again insisted there was nothing untoward when asked about the topic ahead of the grudge match.
"There was no moving on or moving past anything. It was just an action that happened and you guys made it a bigger deal than what it is," Cronk said.
The veteran halfback said his relationship with Smith has been the same as it was for the entire 14 years there were teammates at club, state and national level.
"It's solid. It's respectful," Cronk said.
"And as a footy player, I don't think I respect any more player that's ever played the game than Cameron Smith.
"As a football player, he's had a great impact on the game of rugby league, but also positively impact my career. I thank him and respect him for that."
The showdown between the pair is just part of what is growing into one of the fiercest NRL rivalries of the modern era.
Three of their past five matches have been decided by one point, including the past two in the city of churches and their most recent encounter in round six.
A fourth match was separated by three points.
The fifth was the Roosters' 21-6 triumph to claim last year's premiership, when Cronk famously played with a broken scapula.
Little separates the two teams again this year, with the ladder-leading Storm gunning for a sixth straight win and the Roosters not far behind in third.
Having moved to the Roosters last year, Cronk attested the close rivalry to the coaching and performance staff of both clubs.
"There's probably some of the best talent across both teams in terms of representative players (too)," Cronk said.
"They seem to fast-track young players better than most other clubs.
"In and amongst all that you've got a lot similarities and then come game day, you've got two teams that want to compete and fight for every inch.
"That normally makes it a pretty close encounter and history shows that."
