What: Brisbane City v Perth Spirit
When: Saturday, November 1 – 7:30pm (AEDT)
Where: Ballymore
I can view it on: Fox Sports
What did they do last time?
Brisbane City came from behind to record a 32-26 victory over NSW Country Eagles at Central Coast Stadium to book their spot in the decider.
The Spirit shocked undefeated Melbourne Rising 45-29 in the first semi-final at AAMI Park.
Things you need to know
Brisbane finished the regular season in third spot with a 6-2 record. They boast a powerhouse back-row of Reds trio Liam Gill, Jake Schatz and Curtis Browning. They have been weakened by the absence of James Horwill, Will Genia and Quade Cooper and James Hanson on the Wallabies' end-of-season tour but still enter the final as favourites.
Perth scraped into fourth spot with a 3-5 regular-season record. The men from the west won their final two round robin games before springing the upset of the season against minor premiers and red-hot title favourites the Rising. They are led by skipper Sam Wykes and Test prop Pek Cowan but are missing Kyle Godwin, Ben McCalman and Matt Hodgson who are away on Wallabies duties.
Reason to watch
Start your night by watching the NRC grand final. Then have a nap before getting up at 1.30am (AEDT) Sunday morning to watch the Barbarians v Wallabies.
Reason to turn away
It's a grand final, don't do it.
Final instructions
It's third v fourth in the first-ever NRC decider and it's hard to split Brisbane City and Perth Spirit heading in. Brisbane are slight favourites with the bookies after finishing third with six wins but Perth have won three in a row and take momentum and belief into the grand final after their shock win over Melbourne. Brisbane edged the Spirit 26-21 in Round 2 but it's anyone's game this weekend. It should be a cracker and after a toss of the coin we're tipping Brisbane by five.