The best two sides in England collide at Old Trafford on Saturday night when Leeds tackle St Helens in a repeat of last season's decider.
And a little over half a day later, Melbourne and Manly stage their own re-enactment in the NRL showpiece in Sydney.
Unusually, the defending champions will both start as marginal underdogs, with Saints and Manly both looking to hold the edge over the sides that conquered them 12 months ago.
In St Helens' case, their favouritism stems from a combination of the dominance they have displayed all year and the way they systematically dismantled Leeds at Knowsley Road a fortnight ago in the top versus second qualifier.
Leeds will improve considerably on that performance this weekend, but it is difficult to see how it will be enough to actually go on and win.
Twelve months ago, they caught Saints cold, with world class performances from Gareth Ellis and Jamie Peacock laying the platform for a memorable victory.
It is difficult to imagine Saints succumbing to the same degree this time round.
The Rhinos also have a potential weak link in the centre, where converted back rower Carl Ablett has spent the second half of the year deputising for the injured Clinton Toopi.
Ablett is a solid player, but his speed and awareness will be tested to the maximum by Daniel Anderson's side.
Down Under, Manly's advantage owes everything to the suspension of Melbourne captain Cameron Smith, banned for two games for a grapple tackle in his side's win in Brisbane two weeks ago.
The Storm are a different side with the Australia hooker calling the shots from the play the ball, and although they were defensively impressive in their crushing 28-0 win over Cronulla last weekend, Smith's absence robs them of a key attacking weapon.
And with Manly, spearheaded by brilliant full back Brett Stewart and former Storm half back Matt Orford, devastating against the New Zealand Warriors last time out, there are question marks over whether Melbourne can score enough points to win the game.
Whichever sides emerge victorious though, there shouldn't be much in it, making for a great weekend's action.

ELLERY Hanley has always had a cracking sense of timing.
It was that ability to be in the right place at the right time that made him one of the best players the game has ever seen.
I'm not sure his awareness was all that it might have been last weekend though, announcing his resignation within minutes of winning the National League Two Grand Final with Doncaster.
At a stroke Hanley managed to turn what should have been one of the best days in the Dons' chequered history into yet another crisis story.
Perhaps it might have been better to let the club's players and supporters enjoy their 15 minutes of fame before raining on the parade.