The lingering images of the 2018 Super W final feature NSW’s jubilant celebration of a double overtime victory.
For Queensland, skipper Kiri Lingman remembers, there were tears post-match and a silent change room.
But not long after, there was a dose of perspective and a fire lit to go one better in 2019.
“It was a very quiet environment but it would be weird if it wasn't, having done that and had the end result,” she said.
“But I think once you accept the result, there's definitely an admiration of the girls and what we'd been through the whole season.
“It's quite strange - it's a six-week season but it feels like an eternity, I feel like we've been going for months.
“I know personally I was shattered but once the result had been accepted and taken, there was admiration for what the game was for spectators and for the sport as a whole.”
A longer preseason this year allowed Queensland to improve their fitness, in anticipation of any more marathon outings.
“We've had a really big focus on strength and conditioning this year, which I think we maybe lacked a little bit last year,’ she said.
“So, definitely a lot fitter, a lot stronger, just working on our structures and focusing on our game.
“I guess last year we didn't have that luxury of the planning and the preparation.
“This year it was a lot more structured and alot more time to realise what we needed to do a six-week season and do it well. It's good to be able to be able to have that time and that focus this year.”
Making the grand final was an ambition in the back of every players' mind but Lingman said it wasn't a preoccupation.
"We didn't focus too much on it, it wasn't like "We must make it to the final, we must beat NSW" but it's a good motivator," she said.
"Ultimately that's why we're here, that's why we're doing this, that's why we work so hard is to lift that the trophy at the end.
While they’re keen not to continue to compare this season to last, Lingman said the epic decider and the experience of winning a sudden-death playoff this season would be invaluable for the side.
“Some people don't quite understand, for some of the girls being so young - we had 18, 19-year-olds who had never played in a stadium before,” she said.
“It can be a daunting thing, let alone it being on national television, having the crowds and the people and everything around you.
“I think the way that the women across the competition as a whole have been handling it and handling the exposure and the media attention is fantastic.
“Definitely having been there and being part of a game of like that you learn different things to make it a lot easier the next time around but I don't think it's ever easy playing NSW.
Queensland finished second in the regular season and had to beat the Brumbies in that playoff while NSW had a week off.
That extra game might just have been the best thing for Lingman’s side, the Queensland skipper reckons.
“I think it was a blessing in disguise,” she said.
“It was definitely a blessing in disguise.
“It was definitely our best game of the season and a chance for us to put a lot of things we were lacking together before this weekend.
“I think personally, feeling like we're peaking at the right time and that was evident from the Brumbies game.”
Waratahs captain Ash Hewson said she expected the decider to live up to the intensity of the QLD-NSW matches before it.
“When we come up against each other, we play quality rugby and there's a great rivalry between us girls just because a lot of us are mates,” she said.
“We've played a lot in the Wallaroos together, so I think that ups the ante a little bit too.”
The Waratahs host Queensland in the Super W grand final on Sunday April 7 at Leichhardt Oval, kicking off at 4:30pm AEST, LIVE on RUGBY.com.au and Kayo Sports. Buy tickets here.
