Last year's premiership offers proof of what's possible, but Bull Sharks head coach Mick Heenan knows history alone won't defend the title.
While the parallels with 2025 are striking - the Bull Sharks returned from the mid-season bye outside the top four before defeating Brothers in the grand final - Heenan knows a title defence will be built on consistency, not memories.
After an up-and-down first half of the season, Bond returns from the bye to face undefeated ladder leaders Brothers, a challenge Heenan believes is the perfect benchmark as the competition enters its defining stretch.
"Brothers are absolutely dominant this year, and they'd be favourites to get the title again," he said.
"It's a really good benchmark for us. We're getting to the point where all the games we play really, really matter."
Although they have remained competitive throughout the season, Heenan admits Bond has struggled to turn performances into results.
"We haven't managed to put it together yet," he said.
"We've seen some patches where we've played some pretty good footy, we've just had a lot of close games which haven't gone our way.”
"On one view, you can say we've been competitive in every game, which we have. On the other, it's a bit frustrating that we haven't actually converted."
Rather than allowing those close games to affect their confidence, Heenan said the team has used the bye to reset mentally as well as physically.
"It's something we've been spending a lot of time on over the break," he said.
"I think we've come up with a good strategy to deal with the stress of it all."
The Bull Sharks have also had to adapt after losing captain Tyler Campbell to injury, with Heenan describing the player's absence as another test for the group.
"He's been a very influential guy," he said.
"He's still been involved in what we've been doing, and he's still very keen for us to do well, which is great to have his support."
While the term "turning a corner" can often get thrown around at this point in the season, Heenan believes those moments are usually only recognised much later.
"It's all in hindsight," he said.
"During the season, you're just doing the best you can week to week."
That approach won't change heading into the second half of the season.
"We just keep it week to week," he said.
"The way you manage training adjusts, but it also has to adjust to whatever the workload is each week."
The challenge couldn't be much bigger. An unbeaten Brothers awaits, giving the defending premiers an early opportunity to discover whether the consistency Heenan has been searching for is finally beginning to emerge.