IT looms as the NRL's version of Mission: Impossible - beating Melbourne in front of a sell-out crowd at AAMI Park in the last game of the most tumultuous season in Storm history.
But injured Newcastle captain Kurt Gidley and his replacement, Jarrod Mullen, want the Knights to embrace that challenge and channel the emotion of the occasion to their advantage.
The Storm have dominated the game in Australia since 2006, playing in the past four grand finals and winning two of them, but they were exposed in April as systematic salary-cap cheats and the NRL stripped them of their 2007 and 2009 titles and all competition points won this year.
Long-serving stars Greg Inglis, Ryan Hoffman and Brett White, plus premiership winners Brett Finch, Aiden Tolman and Jeff Lima, are among those who have been forced to leave so the Storm can fit under the salary cap next year and begin rebuilding.
As they lower the boom on their annus horribilis and to ensure a capacity crowd of 30,000 for the departing players' last game for the club, Storm management sold tickets for $1 each and with no AFL final in Melbourne on Sunday, the game sold out quickly.
Gidley helped christen AAMI Park on May 7, playing for Australia against New Zealand in front of a crowd of 29,422, and is disappointed a knee injury will prevent him reliving his opening-night memories.
He will have arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday to remove a piece of floating cartilage in his left knee but is expected to recover in time to play for Australia in the Four Nations tournament against New Zealand, England and Papua New Guinea in October and November.
"I got to play there once this year and it's going to be another packed stadium, it's the last game of the year and I'd like to be playing in it but it's out of my control, I'm afraid," Gidley said.
"The past couple of years, we've had some good competitiveness with Melbourne. We've been in the game most of the time the last couple of years and we've beaten them a couple of times.
"Sunday will be a great occasion and it's why you play footy. It's a new stadium, it's going to be packed and it's going to be vocal and whether it's for you or against you, that's exciting.
"That goes for where you play anywhere in the world. It's nice when the fans are for you but when they're against you, it certainly gives you plenty of motivation as well.
"I'd really be looking forward to it if I was playing and I'm sure the rest of the boys will be."
In his 100th game for the Knights, Mullen will replace Gidley as stand-in skipper and will switch to five-eighth to partner halfback Scott Dureau.
"We've got a pretty good record against Melbourne and we've had some pretty good matches down there in the last few years," Mullen said.
"They've sold out the crowd but hopefully we'll still have a few Knights supporters down there and they'll watch us get a win."
Dureau said the Knights relished playing the role of underdogs.
"The tougher it gets, the better we usually do, so it's a massive challenge for us," Dureau said.
"Melbourne, their last game, packed house and they've had a horrible year off the field, so you know that they're going to come out in their last home game wanting to win.
"Our mums and dads will go for us and that will be about it but that's all right if no one tips us. We're fine with that and hopefully we can come down the outside and pip them at the post."
Coach Rick Stone said the Knights had a healthy respect for the Storm and their on-field achievements, despite the stain the salary-cap scandal had left on the club.
"Any sportsman who's a competitor would like to walk into that environment where they're facing a big crowd and facing a big occasion," Stone said.
"I think St George used that to their advantage here last Saturday [when the Dragons beat the Knights 26-18 in front of a capacity crowd]. They obviously handled themselves pretty well . . . so that's the challenge for us.
"It's a daunting one but it's still an exciting challenge, for sure and anyone who gets their chance to have a crack at it will remember it for a long time, so there's still plenty to play for as far as we're concerned."
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