With a remarkable three sets of sisters and a trio of cousins, Parramatta's quest to win the women's NRL Touch Premiership title on Sunday is truly a family affair.
Siblings Tayla and Brittney Clifford, Danni and Shellie Davis and Laura and Sarah Peattie will don the blue and gold in the grand final against Brisbane at the SCG.
They're joined by tight-knit first cousins Faith Nathan, Aaliyah Paki and Kiiahla Duff.
"And then on the Broncos side you've got another set of sisters in Emily Hopkins – who's now Hennessey – and Sam Hopkins," Touch Football Australia CEO Jamie O'Connor told NRL.com.
"It's extraordinary when you think of those family ties and being able to progress through to the absolute elite end of the game. I think three sisters would have to be some sort of record in any sporting team."
The women's grand final will tap off at 12pm leading into the men's decider between the Cowboys and Knights in a double-header curtain-raiser to the Roosters-Warriors NRL clash. The matches will be broadcast on Fox League and Kayo Sports.
Parramatta and North Queensland went straight into their respective big dances after finishing the regular season in first position, while Brisbane and Newcastle had to win semi-finals to book their places.
O'Connor expects expansive, top-quality games with decent weather forecast.
"If you want to turn up and watch free-flowing, fast action, what we're looking at is a Twenty20 (cricket) or Big Bash version of rugby league. It's fast, it's highly energetic, highly skilful," he said.
"People will come down and see two 30-minute games so the action is compressed into an hour and a quarter of entertainment prior to an NRL game. In the men's and women's, the two best teams in those divisions have got through.
"And the other part for us is the ability to come to one of the really iconic places in Australian sport, the SCG. For our athletes to get an opportunity to play a grand final on that venue is something special."
The Eels and Broncos women's sides share a fierce rivalry dating back "six to eight years", said O'Connor, often battling it out in the Elite 8 finals before the Touch Premiership's arrival last year.
For the men, North Queensland are considered the benchmark outfit, though O'Connor thinks they'll be challenged by the youthful and gifted Novocastrians.
The Touch Premiership began in 2018 with only seven game days. The developing competition has been played over five months this season and expanded from six teams to eight.
"It's really pleasing. When we sat down originally and started to flesh this strategy out, it was a concept and a pipe dream. All the pieces are starting to fall into place, and to look back now over the last 18 months to see the impact it's had [is incredible]," he said.
"Some of the junior growth numbers we're seeing, particularly on the eastern seaboard where most of these NRL clubs are participating in the Premiership, that's the exciting part.
"It was always designed to grow the sport and inspire people to pick up a touch ball."
