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Thanks to their teammates, Manly duo Glenn Stewart and Darcy Lussick have a chance to redeem themselves in Sunday's NRL grand final.
From the moment they were handed three-week suspensions for their roles in the Brookvale brawl, Manly duo Glenn Stewart and Darcy Lussick knew their only chance of playing again was this Sunday's NRL grand final.
So they sat back and trained, and on game day they crossed their fingers, hoping their teammates could earn them one chance at redemption.
Thankfully for the pair, the Sea Eagles knocked off both North Queensland and Brisbane in consecutive finals matches to earn a grand final berth.
Unsurprisingly, Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler recalled Stewart at lock, while picking rookie Lussick on a six-man bench.
The fiery seven-gamer is tipped to retain his spot for the decider, with unlucky duo Vic Mauro and Tim Robinson expected to drop off later in the week.
"We knew when we were training that if we were going to get another chance this year it was going to be the grand final so we've had a few weeks to prepare for one game, so I'm definitely ready," Lussick told AAP.
"In semi-final footy anything can happen, but we were always confident (that Manly would make the grand final).
"Having said that we were praying to ourselves when we were sitting there watching from the grandstands that it would be alright this year."
Dynamic Manly backrower Tony Williams retains his place in the starting lineup despite Stewart's return, with Shane Rodney dropping back to the bench.
Williams says Stewart's return will have a profound impact on Manly's style of play.
"It's a big boost having Gift (Stewart), it's an advantage for us having that second five-eighth that Glenn plays," Williams explained.
Across the Tasman, Warriors coach Ivan Cleary picked an unchanged lineup.
As he has for the past two matches, Cleary named key trio Feleti Mateo, Aaron Heremaia and Sam Rapira to start, despite all three being demoted to the bench in a late switch by the coach on both occasions.
Cleary is again expected to run out with Elijah Taylor, Lance Hohaia and Russell Packer in his starting 13, Hohaia to make his last appearance for the Warriors after ten years with the club.
The grand final will also be Penrith-bound coach Ivan Cleary's last game in charge of the club, ending it the same way he did his playing career with the Warriors, in a grand final.
Rookies Taylor and halfback Shaun Johnson will both be going to grand final day for the second straight year after playing in the Warriors' premiership-winning under 20s side last year.
Manly team: Brett Stewart, Michael Robertson, Jamie Lyon (capt), Steve Matai, Will Hopoate, Kieran Foran, Daly Cherry-Evans, Joe Galuvao, Matt Ballin, Brent Kite, Anthony Watmough, Tony Williams, Glenn Stewart. Interchange: Shane Rodney, Jamie Buhrer, Vic Mauro, George Rose, Darcy Lussick, Tim Robinson (two to be omitted)
Warriors team: Kevin Locke, Bill Tupou, Lewis Brown, Krisnan Inu, Manu Vatuvei, James Maloney, Shaun Johnson, Sam Rapira, Aaron Heremaia, Jacob Lillyman, Feleti Mateo, Simon Mannering (capt), Micheal Luck. Interchange: Lance Hohaia, Russell Packer, Ben Matulino, Elijah Taylor, Steve Rapira (one to be omitted).
