KEY POINTS:
In the macho world of NRL football, where most players wear their jerseys extra small to showcase the contours of bulging bodies built by weights and mirrors, it's the little things that will decide tonight's critical match at Mt Smart Stadium.
You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that the power men of the game like Nathan Cayless and Steve Price will do what they do every game - grind away with hard work, and apparently no thought of self-preservation. In fact, every league dressing room in the land has at some time been decorated with the sign which implores "run again, it's only pain".
These big guys are not only totally reliable but also predictable. Week-in week-out, they don't let their teams down, but it's my view that the little plays, and probably from the less experienced players, will determine the winner tonight.
Paramatta is full of kids who are not yet old enough to know what conservative football means. They showed this last week by nuking the Broncos. When the chants arose, the Paramatta backs' youthful zest tore the Broncos apart. They tried everything.
And it paid off. In recent weeks, the Warriors have dropped into their more conservative approach. But I don't believe that will bring them success tonight.
These are two evenly-matched sides but they are totally different.
The Warriors rely on every player playing a part. The Eels have come with a sack full of firecrackers. Their key is making sure they all don't go off at once. The winning of this game will come from something that's uncoachable. It will be the magic of someone like Wade McKinnon or Krisnan Inu. These guys produce moments of play that take a blur of a second in time.
The grind of endless training provides the solid base that all teams have in equal amounts. Brilliance, which is what will win tonight's encounter, comes from a mixture of confidence, audacity and talent.
The 2002 Warriors team found itself in a similar position to tonight's team. But I think that outfit was a more potent side because they had the brilliant talent of Stacey Jones, Ali Lauititi and Clinton Toopi.
Of the 2007 outfit, McKinnon is probably the closest, although this team has a far more structured look about them, particularly in defence.
History shows that the most talented sides don't always win. It's the side that seizes the moment. Home advantage will go a long way to helping the Warriors but I wouldn't be putting my favourite bottle of wine on it.
This game could go either way.
Warriors' coach Ivan Cleary and Eels' coach Michael Hagan are two very similar men and both pay plenty of attention to detail. Coaches like to think that they've got all the bases covered in all games but particularly in a semifinal like this.
In fact the preparation for this week has been done throughout the year and little separates any of the NRL sides when it comes to their day to day practice.
Worryingly, the Warriors have in recent weeks shown that they're a bit slow out of the blocks.
This is a reflection of preparation and will have needed to be addressed. Eighty minutes of semifinal time can sometimes seem like the blink of an eye but if you are on the wrong end of a loss, an eternity.
Both these sides must play the game that suits them. The Eels must resist getting sucked into a forward arm wrestle. Their strike power is in the improvisation of their young backs, and if Jarred Hayne is given room to move his feet, the biggest sweat will be on the brow of the man operating the scoreboard. And veteran centre Tamana Tahu looks like he wants to make up for all the ball he's never going to receive in union by staging a series of one-man skill clinics in the Eels' centres.
The key to the Warriors' game will be in Price's yardage and the ability of the halves to involve themselves more, to jump on half breaks and put every opportunity in the points bank. George Gatis on his own can't win this one.
And for the 30,000 who will be at the stadium, brace yourselves for finals footy, which can turn on a dime. A simple moment can win this game. Let's hope it doesn't come down to a referee or a touch judge.
For me, it's the side that dares to be different that'll win.
That uncoachable moment of magic could be the catalyst for either club to take the match.
