There have been moments this week that have allowed George Burgess to cast his mind back to last October.
While the Rabbitohs are adamant they cannot dwell on their grand final success, it has been difficult to avoid footage of their 30-6 victory against Canterbury before their premiership decider rematch on Friday.
Moments from last year have featured in parts of Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire's pre-game preparation. Not that Burgess has needed any reminding about that match.
"I've lost count," Burgess said of how many times he has watched the grand final. "It's one of those things that you flick on when you want cheering up a bit. It's great memories, something you'll always cherish. I've not seen it in a while but we've been doing a lot of video work from the Bulldogs this week and there are a few clips knocking around from the grand final.
"Yeah, it does [bring a smile to my face]. They were great memories, something that you've got to be very proud of. We have just had to approach this as a normal game and not worry too much about last year. We have to do what we need to do to get the job done."
The battle of the forward pack looms as the potential decider when the teams go head to head on Friday afternoon. Burgess is again preparing for a physical confrontation against the Bulldogs big men led by props James Graham, Aiden Tolman and Sam Kasiano.
"You kind of know you're going to get a big forward pack who are mobile and have ball-playing abilities," Burgess said. "They've got some great halves and big back-rowers. They are a big all-round team. They are always in the top four coming into the end of the season."
After romping to premiership success, the Rabbitohs lost their first match against Parramatta last Friday night since their final regular season match of the season last year. Their grand final win was followed by Auckland Nines, Charity Shield and World Club Challenge victories.
"It's never a relief to lose," Burgess said. "We always want to win and go out each week to get the two points. It's a good thing about footy you get to go again the week after.
"We are trying to do some of the good things we've been doing and work on some of the things we did wrong the last game."
Meanwhile, Burgess' pre-game preparation took a different turn when he joined older brother Luke in dressing as characters to promote the Blu-ray release of the biblical movie Exodus: Gods and Kings.
"We loved dressing up [as children]," George said. "We were always the first to put our hands up for the fancy dress parties. This is another fun day for us, getting out on the beach and having a bit of fun."
