The Sydney Roosters face the Dolphins at a sold-out Suncorp Stadium on Friday, needing to overturn a poor away record in preliminary finals.
The Roosters have played five preliminary finals away from home, winning once and losing four times. That represents a 20 percent success rate.
Their latest appearance ended in a 48-18 defeat against Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park in 2024.
By contrast, the Roosters have won seven of eight preliminary finals on home ground. Their only defeat came against the Cowboys in 2017, giving them an 87.5 percent win rate.
They must therefore claim their first away preliminary-final victory in 16 years to reach another grand final.
The last time they achieved that feat, Mitchell Pearce and Todd Carney were the halves, Jason Ryles played prop, and Braith Anasta was lock.
Trent Robinson was then an assistant to coach Brian Smith, while Daly Cherry-Evans had not yet made his NRL debut.
The Roosters have won four NRL premierships and appeared in 21 finals series since 1998.
They have reached 13 preliminary finals and eight grand finals, ranking second to Melbourne's 15 grand-final appearances and 10 victories.