Losing an NRL grand final won’t get you the Provan-Summons Trophy and a premiership ring, but it almost guarantees the obligatory media question about whether the loss will actually help you (in the future).

Given the two teams that will play at Accor Stadium on Sunday night, it looks like it does.

In 2023, it was Brisbane, who had been leading 24-8 with 18 minutes remaining in the decider, and by full-time had somehow lost 26-24. Penrith claimed a third straight premiership.

A further 18 minutes or so after that, Kevin Walters and Adam Reynolds were in a press conference room being asked to put into words what the hell had just happened – and then the question came.

“Can things like this be the making of a footy team going forward,” a journalist ventured, “if you harness it in the rig

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