The all-Sydney grand final may not be a fait accompli after all, with defending premiers Melbourne leaving no-one in any doubt they're up for the NRL title fight on a record-breaking afternoon in Canberra.
Written off in some quarters on the back of four losses from five games during the taxing Origin period, the Storm flexed their premiership muscle in the nation's capital on Sunday, inflicting the Raiders' biggest ever loss in a 68-4 flogging.
This was not a hammering of a side going through the motions towards the back end of the season, with their thoughts on off-season getaways rather than football.
This was a Canberra side seventh on the ladder, in the thick of a battle for a top eight finish.
A Raiders side which had not been beaten on it's own patch since the corresponding round last season - a run of 12 straight home wins coming to a shuddering half.
For much of the season top two sides and arch-rivals Sydney Roosters and South Sydney seemed on a collision course for ANZ Stadium on October 6, but heading into a monster clash with the Rabbitohs in Melbourne on Friday night, it's obvious this is anything but a two-horse race.
"It wasn't so much of a statement ... everyone's been talking about we haven't won too many games the last six weeks, we just needed to get back and play the way Melbourne Storm can play," skipper Cameron Smith said.
"Whoever we come up against, we want to play that style of football, it's hard to stop.
"We did a fantastic job, obviously the scoreline looks pretty spectacular having 60 points on the board."
And it's a sight that would not have gone unnoticed by the likes of the Roosters, Rabbitohs and Manly, who hold onto third spot ahead of the Storm on points differential alone.
The Storm proved in 2012, when they lost five straight during the same period before going on to win the title, that they can overcome the late-season slump.
Coach Craig Bellamy said the comparisons to last year mean nothing, but the similarities are eerie, the Storm having thumped Penrith 46-6 in round 22 to start a run which went all the way to the 2012 grand final.
"I haven't really gone back to last year to be honest," Bellamy said.
"Is it a similar situation? It probably is, but I'm not a great believer in lightning in the same place twice.
"For us to get back to playing somewhere where we know we're capable is going to take a lot of effort from our guys."
And it's an effort the Storm are ready to embrace, up against a Rabbitohs side expected to be without star duo John Sutton and Greg Inglis for the trip south.
With the Bunnies seemingly limping to the finals, the Storm along with Manly and the Roosters - who are top of the table for the first time in 2013 - are timing their run perfectly.
"I think that's the most clinical match that we've played all season," Smith said.
"That performance comes on the back of having our entire squad together for the first time in seven or eight weeks - that's the first full week I've had with the boys since Origin started."
