The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the South Sydney Rabbitohs are two teams from the NRL East conference with a long, storied rivalry that never ceases to write itself a new chapter.

One team is the most successful in the history of Australian rugby league, winning an unprecedented 21 premierships and hailing from the working class area of South Sydney. The other are the ‘silvertails’ from the Northern Peninsula, detested by many but undeniably one of the best sides of the last decade. Together they have created a great rivalry that has given rugby league some of its most memorable moments.

The Rabbitohs and Sea Eagles have played each other in three grand finals – in 1951, 1968 and 1970 – and the Rabbitohs have won all of them. The latter was the match in which Souths captain John Sattler led his side to victory with a broken jaw, epitomising the toughness and attitude that rugby league prides itself upon. It was the first of two straight grand final wins for the Bunnies, which also proved to be their last for a long time.

For four decades afterwards Souths found themselves in the premiership wilderness, as the Sea Eagles pushed on to win eight titles between 1972 and 2011. However, during that time these two teams have more shared history than one might think.

At the end of the 1990s both clubs found themselves victims of the rationalisation that came about from the end of the Super League War. Manly merged with the North Sydney Bears to become the Northern Eagles between 2000 and 2002 before returning as the Sea Eagles. The Rabbitohs were kicked out of the competition altogether until winning readmission to take part in the 2002 season. There were several lean years of success for fans of both teams after their respective returns to the NRL, but fortunes began to turn after both teams were privatised.

The Sea Eagles found success first, making four grand finals and winning two, in 2008 and 2011. The Rabbitohs made the finals for the first time since their readmission in 2007, but were knocked out in week one by the Sea Eagles. They made it back to the post-season in 2012 and fell one game short of the grand final.

The two teams met in the 2013 preliminary final, with the red-hot Rabbitohs firm favourites to beat a Manly side that had walked a brutal tightrope to make it to the final four. The Rabbitohs justified their favouritism early by jumping out to a 14-0 lead within as many minutes, but the Sea Eagles clawed their way to inflict one of the great comebacks, prevailing 30-20.

Souths sought revenge against Manly in 2014 and found it in week one of the finals with a 40-24 victory. And so the scene is set for the next chapter in this rivalry that has reignited over the last few seasons.

There is extra spice to the narrative between the two sides when they meet in round 16. Both the Burgess and Stewart brothers can be found in each opposing squad. The Rabbitohs are equal leaders of the NRL East conference table and are looking to cement their spot, while the Sea Eagles have languished at the bottom all season and are desperate to find some momentum to make the finals. The result of every NRL match is crucial nowadays, but this one is more crucial than most.