And then there were two.
Sunday's Grand Final is almost upon us and while there has already been one bombshell dropped this week, it appears as though that may be the only one from the selection table.
North Queensland coach Paul Green declared Matt Scott won't play in the decider barring a late injury to one of his forwards meaning the Cowboys will head down to Sydney once again with the same 17 that downed the Roosters last week.
Green and the Cowboys could've easily played mind games with the Storm and the rest of the rugby league world surrounding Scott's potential selection but squashed speculation early in the week.
"I just want to clear the air. There has been a lot of speculation around Matt Scott," Green said.
"The 17 guys that got us to grand final will be the 17 that play this weekend.
"Some of the comments last week were blown out of proportion."
Scott's selection would've been the ultimate fairy-tale in this dream run for the Cowboys throughout September but ultimately, Green has put the faith in the 17 that has gotten his side to this point in the season.
"Unless something happens with injury this week, the same 17 will play on Sunday," Green continued.
"The 17 guys are the ones that got us there so they deserve the chance."
Several Cowboys have been carrying injuries throughout this finals series, including the likes of Coen Hess, John Asiata and Antonio Winterstein, but remain in no doubt ahead of Sunday's finale.
Melbourne is also expected to enter Sunday's clash with the same 17 that has served them well for the majority of 2017.
Contrary to the Cowboys, the Storm have had a reasonably low-numbered bill of health this season with the continuity proving crucial in seeing them reach another grand final.
Nelson Asofa-Solomona suffered a nasty head knock in their preliminary final against the Broncos but passed the HIA in the change rooms before returning to barge over the try line to seal Melbourne's spot in the decider.
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