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It's been half a decade since the core of Cronulla's best 17 won a NSW Cup grand final, building connections that could be the platform for an NRL premiership.
Staring down the outright longest NRL finals losing streak in modern history, Cronulla could do worse than draw on their past.
In 2019, as the Sharks' seven-game post-season losing streak was in its infancy, the club's next generation of stars quietly produced one of the great reserve-grade grand final triumphs.
Feeder club Newtown's extra-time 20-15 defeat of Wentworthville yielded the most recent piece of silverware for an organisation whose post-season record has been a talking point throughout this week.
Will the Sharks be the first team in the NRL era to lose eight finals in a row?
Barring late changes, eight players from that 2019 Newtown Jets team will run out against North Queensland at Allianz Stadium on Friday night.
They have all transformed into bona fide first-graders at the Sharks - Will Kennedy, Toby Rudolf, Siosifa Talakai, Braydon Trindall, Teig Wilton, Sione Katoa, Ronaldo Mulitalo and Blayke Brailey.
And the overriding sense if it's time to finally capitalise on half a decade of connections, it's time to banish the wolf from the door.
"It's almost half a team that's still here from that squad," front-rower Toby Rudolf told AAP.
"Is this our best chance? Yeah, this is our best chance for sure.
"The way we've performed this year, the way our defensive record has been, the way we can sort of get out there, we're actually executing what our coaches are saying.
"It's just time to put our game together and realise the team that we can be."
If you count Oregon Kaufusi - playing for Wentworthville - more than half the Sharks' 17 was present when Billy Magoulias took matters into his own hands that Sunday afternoon in 2019.
His side down a point with two-and-a-half minutes remaining in extra time, Magoulias spied Tyrone Phillips unmarked on the wing and poked a kick over the Magpies' right edge.
Phillips latched onto the ball, passed inside, and sent current Sharks fullback Kennedy over to seal a stunning five-point win.
Magoulias' career never kicked on the way some had predicted, though he'll do his utmost to push the Jets to another decider when they meet Canberra for a preliminary final on Saturday.
These days, the Sharks rarely stop to reflect on the magical moment - except when Magoulias' name comes up or they want a reason to tease the softly spoken Kaufusi.
Now at risk of following a strong season with another early exit from the finals, the stakes were quite different when the rising stars were soaring Jets in 2019.
"There was no pressure, we were all in good places on and off the field. We were just happy to be playing," utility Talakai told AAP.
"When you look at it and reflect on it, we've been together for a couple of years but it feels like it's gone quick."
The old Jets plays have been lost to time, replaced with new shapes and structures from the mind of coach Craig Fitzgibbon.
"It's just more of a connection, we just really learned how each other plays and roll off the back of each other," five-eighth Trindall told AAP.
"I don't think we've actually reached our full potential as a side."
That connection, though, can make all the difference - just ask the local juniors who have inspired three consecutive premiership at Penrith.
"There's no reason why we couldn't do that either. They (Penrith) are the best example," Talakai said.
The eight former Jets are over talk, though. Talk about potential - and a poor finals record - is all they've been hearing this week.
"We've been through a lot of stuff together, after each situation we've just become closer and closer. That plays a part on the field as well," Talakai said.
"We've got a job to do. We obviously got it done for Newtown, now it's a matter of doing it for the Sharks."
