A blockbuster showdown with arch-rivals the Sydney Roosters awaits South Sydney in the first week of the NRL finals.
But they're more pre-occupied with getting their season back on track before that happens.
Anthony Seibold's side are tasked with arresting their late-season slump in their final regular round game against the Wests Tigers on Thursday night.
Seibold isn't one to be alarmed or hit the panic button - but admits they've gone away from what they did well during their run of nine straight wins from rounds nine to 18.
And recent history tells us form isn't always a reliable guide of how sides will fare in September.
North Queensland lost five of their last six before making last year's grand final.
And in 2015, the Cowboys won just three times in the last five rounds, as well as going down to Brisbane in the first week of the finals, before beating the Broncos in the grand final.
Cronulla in 2016 had just one victory in the last six weeks before breaking their premiership drought.
Importantly for Seibold, they will be able to run out their best 13 onto ANZ Stadium on Thursday night with the return of winger Robert Jennings (hamstring) officially signifying the end of their backline injury crisis.
With Greg Inglis, Alex Johnston and Campbell Graham having returned in recent weeks, they are almost all hands on deck, utility bench player Adam Doueihi (knee, season) the only regular player out of action.
"One thing that happens when you lose some of your edge players is you lose that cohesion and that connection across the group," Seibold said.
"Especially defensively but also from an attacking point of view.
Should the Rabbitohs win, and the Roosters beat last-placed Parramatta, they will meet in a qualifying final next week in what would be a dream match-up for the NRL.
Standing in front of Souths are a Tigers outfit out of finals contention, but one which has made a habit of knocking over more fancied sides this year.
The Tigers were responsible for ending Souths' nine-game winning streak earlier in the year and the Rabbitohs remain wary of Ivan Cleary's giant-killing side.
Despite missing the top eight, they've claimed the scalps of Melbourne, Roosters, St George Illawara, as well as the Souths just six weeks ago.
"They did a really good job against us, they slowed the game down both from a defensive points of view and they put the ball into touch a lot," Seibold said.
"They played a lot of drop-offs on us, a lot of offloads; I think they call it chaos footy."
STATS THAT MATTER
* Wests Tigers have won five of the past six matches against South Sydney, with five of these six matches being decided by 16 points or more.
* The Rabbitohs are scoring the second most points (23.1 per game), while the Tigers are scoring the second fewest points (16 per game).
Source: Fox Sports Stats.
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