South Sydney faces a rare opportunity to conquer their long-standing NRL challenge.
A typical approach to discuss a team's poor performance at a venue would involve referencing a historical event unrelated to rugby.
For instance, one might note that St George Illawarra last won at Stadium Australia prior to the COVID-19 crisis.
Or, for a more dramatic twist, one could point out that Newcastle's last victory at Shark Park in 2014 is closer in time to when telegrams were commonly used.
However, this tactic is unhelpful for discussing South Sydney's grim record in Melbourne, as they have never claimed victory there.
Their attempts number 20, starting from 1999 when they suffered a 52-6 defeat in Melbourne's second season at the top level.
This match foreshadowed worse outcomes, as the Storm scored more points than the Rabbitohs did during all their past encounters at Olympic Park.
Dubbed "The Graveyard," it truly was a nightmare for Souths.
Those initial years were particularly tough, coinciding with the Rabbitohs' decline and Melbourne's rise.
From 1999 to 2008, South Sydney was outscored a staggering 284 to 42 in seven games.
Conditions did not improve at AAMI Park, where Souths' 13-match losing streak ranks as the fourth-longest in Australian rugby league history.
Overall, every iteration of South Sydney over the past 28 years-from struggling teams post-readmission to current contenders-has faced nothing but defeats in Melbourne.