The long suffering Parramatta fans are hoping so.

History shows the Eels have been on the wrong end of some stunning upset wins from the Belmore boys in the past but now, finally, they have the chance to exact some revenge in one of the biggest games of the year.

To be fair, the Bulldogs have been one of the most consistent sides all year and rightly deserve to be in the final four.

Parramatta on the other hand, had to cancel their end of season trip because it had long been booked in for September given a woeful start to the season.

After a stunning run, they’re a game from the grand final and with a surge of momentum that has left no team safe, particularly their old foes.

The rivalry between the two clubs is so rich, fuelled heavily from that epic era of the 1980s where they tussled for bragging rights of ‘Team of the decade’.

It sells itself as a must watch match but to explain the opening line of the column, one must take a look at a semi-final match played between the two in 1998.

The Eels had finished fourth that season before beating Norths and the then minor premiers to sit just 80 minutes from their first grand final in 12 years.

Canterbury meanwhile were lucky to even be in the play-offs but limped into ninth (ten teams made the play-offs the year after super league ended) after winning their last four games, the final game by a last play field-goal.

Prior to that, their form was as stale as week old milk and no one gave them a chance.

They only got to play Parramatta after somehow coming back from 16-nil down against Newcastle in their semi-final, beating the Knights in extra-time.

For 70 minutes against Parra, they lived up to everyone else’s hype and were facing the impossible at 18-2 behind.

The Dogs looked like they had finally dug a hole too big to escape and the Eels were poised to progress.

Enter Craig Polla-Mounter, Rod Silva and the right boot of Darryl Halligan.

What followed was the possibly the most unforgettable passage of play in Eels history – far worse than the famed dropped ball in ‘Glovers’ corner. Polla-Mounter’s try got the Dogs back within 12 before Rod Silva’s sublime attacking run scythed through a tiring Eels defence and when Halligan followed up with successful conversion, the lead was just six.