Friday, March 28 will be a date ringed in the calendars of fans of St Helens and Leeds.
But nowhere will the Grand Final rematch be more eagerly anticipated than in the McClennan household where new Leeds coach Brian will seek to get one over on the club once coached by his father Mike.
McClennan senior has fond memories of his spell at Knowsley Road from 1990-93, but his loyalty will be put to the test when they take on the reigning Super League champions in the opening match of round nine.
"He'd better support us," said his son, widely known as Bluey, who added confidently: "He'll support Leeds.
"He loves the St Helens club but obviously time moves on and he's getting to know all the people at Leeds now."
Mike McClennan - a larger-than-life character who once famously threw a pint of beer over a disruptive fan during his time at St Helens - and his wife have followed their son over to England to be close to their grandchildren and are living close by in the Leeds suburb of Adel.
Bluey admits his father has had a "massive influence" on him still has a major input into the career of the former New Zealand head coach.
"You only have to come to our house and have a cup of coffee with us," he said.
"You'd end up falling asleep and us two would still be yarning on about little things you can do in a game.
"We're mad on it. We love the game. I listen to the old boy, he tips me, he's smart, he knows the game."
Leeds, forced to look for a new coach when Tony Smith stepped up to the Great Britain job, insist they have taken no gamble with the appointment of McClennan, who joins Super League with no previous full-time experience at a club.
He coached Hibiscus Coast Raiders and Mt Albert Lions to titles in New Zealand's largely amateur domestic Bartercard Cup competition but was a controversial choice to succeed Daniel Anderson as Kiwis head coach in 2005, despite having worked as his assistant.
McClennan, of course, went on to be a huge success, masterminding a 24-0 defeat of Australia in the final of the 2005 Tri-Nations Series to remove most of the question marks over his coaching ability.
"I don't see it personally but I can understand why the question will be asked because it is a fact," he admitted. "I haven't had a professional job.
"But I've coached since about '92. I have a lot of experience and that worked when I went into the international environment.
"I'm pretty confident that, with the help of all the coaching staff and the senior players, we're going to go all right.
"You get emotionally attached when you're representing your country but it's the same game. I'm throwing out my ideas and gathering what's been going well at Leeds already, combining the two to see what we produce in 2008.
"Whatever I have is on the table for Leeds. We're all doing the same."
Unlike most new coaches, McClennan has not been able to bring in fresh players but he insists he is happy to work with the existing squad and believes that, under progressive chief executive Gary Hetherington, Leeds have a recipe for continued success.
"How Gary Hetherington set everything up has been spot on," he said.
"He's a very shrewd man and I'm very fortunate that I'm getting to work with and learn from Gary.
"The staff are good. Francis Cummins is an outstanding right-hand man. There is good consolidation of all the players from last year and there is youth coming through. I think we'll go all right."
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