That leaves Newcastle, Parramatta and the Warriors in a dogfight for the remaining position, with the New Zealanders' differential their Achilles heel.

If Brian Smith had been told before a ball was kicked this season that his team would need to win one of their last two matches to be finalists, he'd have been delighted.

When told his opposition would be big guns Melbourne and Brisbane, he'd have been excited by the confrontation.

When informed he'd be without inspirational skipper Danny Buderus, the brow may have furrowed but the overall feeling would have been to bring on the challenge.

It has now arrived and the clash with the reigning premiers should be embraced and savoured by all at the Newcastle club.

In every player's career there are standout matches which serve to define both the individual and the club. This is one such match.

It was no surprise to see Brian Smith's face in the crowd on Monday night at CUA Stadium for the Penrith-Melbourne meeting. A chance to get up close and personal with the enemy.

While video and television will tell you so much, watching an upcoming opposition live can give you a much better feel of what they are about.

Seeing what takes place away from the ball is invaluable and gives an insight into vision, decision-making and even possible weaknesses to be exploited.

Melbourne don't possess too many of the latter, which means you must avoid contributing to your own defeat.

All the obvious areas need to be addressed. High completion rates, penalties to a minimum, an effective kick-chase game and maintaining some control in the ruck will help achieve success.

However, what the Knights really need to produce against the quality of this Storm outfit is to "stay alive".

When players think their job is done, they must be prepared to remain in motion and cover the movement. It's no coincidence that the likes of Nathan Hindmarsh and, in days gone, Glenn Lazarus and Ian Roberts, came up with countless crucial plays during the course of games some of them matchwinning.

As soon as teams drop intensity near the play-the-ball on the inside against the Storm, Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater and Greg Inglis make them pay.

Newcastle will also be aware that Craig Bellamy has tweaked his attacking arsenal, which will now throw more passes.

These days Jeff Lima, Sika Manu, Michael Crocker, Antonio Kaufusi and Dallas Johnson will pop a short ball off their shoulder. That too means Newcastle's outside defenders must continue to come up and stay alive.

A win for Newcastle will almost certainly see them play in this year's finals which would be a proud achievement in light of 2007.

Defeating Melbourne would take pressure off the Brisbane match as well as celebrate their Old Boys' night and the career of Danny Buderus in proper fashion.

The challenge is there to stay alive.