Sunday's Grand Final will see the Storm and the Panthers go head-to-head in what is a rematch of the 2020 decider.
Back then, a Penrith side shook the league with a wonderful unbeaten run to the final, but on a rainy night at Accor Stadium their inexperience was pounced upon by a seasoned Melbourne who won 26-20.
Four years later, Penrith have been unstoppable and the Storm have only just made it back to the Grand Final.
Ahead of the mouthwatering clash, it's clear the two top sides have influenced one another in the last five seasons.
NRL FINALS LATEST NEWS: NRL 2024 finals results, schedule | NRL casualty ward, latest injury news | Every NRL player retiring in 2024
How the Storm and Panthers take notes on each other
On SEN's Morning Glory with Matty Johns, the panel - including Andrew Webster, Denan Kemp and Peter Badel - discussed how the Storm and Panthers have each emulated their opponents either in a short-term or a long-term sense in recent years.
Webster said this began after Penrith's underwhelming 2019 season, where the premiership favourites failed to make the finals, and it is unique how the process has come full circle.
"Penrith in 2019 at the end of the terrible season when they had to rebuild their club, they looked at Melbourne and said 'we want to have a winning culture like that club,'" he said.
"They then lost the Grand Final to them in 2020, and four years later, it can be Melbourne to stop the team that tried to emulate them.
"I just think it's a beautiful storyline there [between] those two sides."
Johns then mentioned how on the contrary, Melbourne realised they would have to play like Penrith to beat Penrith, referencing their win against Penrith on the road in 2022: "Talking to someone who played in that Melbourne team [I asked] 'how do you beat them?'
"[The reply was] Bellyache [Craig Bellamy] just said 'if you want to beat Penrith, you beat Penrith and you beat Penrith being Penrith.
"[You] just hop into an arm wrestle and beat them in an arm wrestle, and that's what they'll look to do again this weekend."
The Storm have already done that to an extent in the regular season, defeating the Panthers twice on their way to the minor premiership.
The first came back in round one in an 8-0 win at home, before they won by two points at BlueBet Stadium in August.
