A miracle took place the last time Canberra played the Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval on the 4th of September.
When the Raiders head to Sydney on Sunday it will mark exactly six years to the day since Joey Leilua threw what might be the greatest flick pass ever thrown.
Leichhardt is Benji Marshall country and he's the king of the flick pass but this round-the-back, face-melting ball from Leilua lived up to the Kiwi wizard's best efforts.
It was the football equivalent of speeding round a corner in reverse but managing to avoid all the other cars.
Only divine intervention could have got the ball there, so it sure looked like a miracle to most – but not to Jordan Rapana, who was on the end of it.
As Rapana raced away to score the first of his two tries in what ended up being a 52-12 Canberra victory on the end of the greatest pass he'll ever catch, there was only one thought on his mind.
"I was pointing at him thinking 'you arsey bastard'," Rapana said.
"I always said to him, from the start, you throw it near me and I'll catch it. He'd chuck it, and sometimes they were grenades, but I gave him the confidence to throw it.
"Joey was a freak. He had two guys on the inside he could have passed to easily, but Joey being Joey he had to do something ridiculous.
"It was a pretty arsey offload. That was Joey."
All through that season, Leilua and Rapana were close to unstoppable and their 'Leipana' combination remains one of the enduring centre-wing pairings of modern times.
The two formed a brotherhood of destruction, as Rapana scored a club record 23 tries and Leilua claimed Dally M centre of the year honours, with Canberra riding the duo's alliance all the way to the club's first preliminary final in almost 20 years.
"If I'm being honest, I was just going on the back of what Joey was doing. It was all him, I was just lucky enough to play outside him," Rapana said.
"I love a bit of broken play, he was one of the best offloaders in the game, if he attracted two people and got me the ball I always had space. I was so fortunate to play alongside him.
"Joey was so great in yardage, I'd just follow him. He'd carry three or four blokes, flick me the ball and I'd be away. I have to put it all down to him."
This time around, the Raiders aren't flying so high as they make their first trip back to Leichhardt since that fateful day.
They might need to down the Tigers just to secure their spot in the finals but after winning seven of their last eight matches, Rapana can see a similarity with the whirling attacking dervish that blew through the inner west six years ago.
"We had a bit of a similar run, we were higher on the table but in terms of wins and confidence I don't see it being too different to this year. We were a team full of confidence," Rapana said.
"This year we'd like to have won a few more games and be comfortably in the eight, but that never stopped our belief and that's what got us these wins towards the end of the season.
"There was probably a bit of pressure on us last week, even though Manly were a bit depleted, so to come out with our backs to the wall and win that game and get in the eight, the boys thrived with it.
"We have to do the same this week and I know the boys are confident."
It'll be a very different Raiders team that hits the turf on Sunday compared to the last Canberra side that graced rugby league's eighth wonder.
Rapana will be one of just five survivors from the day of the pass. Leilua is half a world away, playing for Featherstone Rovers in England.
After the two lived in each other's pockets when they were teammates, life has gotten in the way since – but Rapana says the bond they forged back in those furious days remains as strong as ever.
"Hopefully I get a crack in making the Kiwi World Cup squad, cause I'd love to see him, I haven't had a heap of contact with him recently," Rapana said.
"But that's the thing about rugby league, you make mates for life regardless of whether you talk to each other every day or not.
"When I see him again we'll just take off from where we left. I've got a brother for life in Joey.
"Our time here in Canberra, when we talk about it in 30 or 40 years time? Nobody will ever be able to take that away from us. They can't take Leipana away."
