After giving up an 18-0 lead in the first half, the Butchers made all the running in the second stanza, posting 16 unanswered points with only a herculean defensive effort from Wests denying them the boil-over.

Simpson crossed for what looked like a crucial try midway through the second half only to be called back for an obstruction play and admits it's something that still plays on his mind.

"It still keeps me awake at night after last year, there was only two points in it," Simpson said.

"It was my first ever first grade grand final and it was a different beast. It went so quick, it's just so fast and it flashes before your eyes.

"Things didn't go our way that day, we weren't in the game in the first half but we fought our way back. We gave ourselves a chance at winning it but unfortunately we came up short.

"It's been a long tough season and we owe it to ourselves as a team and as mates to get back to the grand final and have a chance at rectifying it."

The two old rivals will meet a week earlier this year, with the Devils premiership defence and the Butchers shot at redemption on the line in Saturday's preliminary final.

It was a path the Butchers took to the big dance last season and one they'll need to replicate after falling to Collegians in last week's major semi-final.

"We were in the same position last year and we know we need to dig deep to get the job done," Simpson said.

"We've finished top two the last two years, we beat Collies at the start of the year and we've beaten Wests as well so we know we're good enough but we have been beaten by both those clubs as well.

"It's going to be an absolute battle, they deserve to be up there as much as us, they're the defending premiers for a reason. We were minor premiers for a reason to.

"We know as a club and as a team we deserve to be there on grand final day but our actions need to speak louder than words."

Last week's major semi played out similar fashion to last year's grand final, the Butchers surrendering a lead before finishing strongly but short of victory.

Listen: Taste of Steel Podcast

Simpson said some frank discussions in the wake of the defeat have his side ready to bounce back.

"It was a game of lapses for us," he said.

"There were 10-minute periods there we had the upper hand and then there'd be a 25-minute block where Collies were all over us.

"There was a lot of disappointment in the sheds after the game. A few guys had some things to say which we all knew were true.

"We were very, very prepared for Sunday but credit to Collies they played really well and they're in the grand final now.

"If we want to win this competition we've got to rectify that and be better this Saturday against Wests and give ourselves that opportunity to play a grand final again."

The Devils will be well rested after cruising through the minor semi-final against Helensburgh a fortnight ago and will welcome back some big guns in Rhys Hanbury and Keiran Rankmore.

It sees them primed but skipper Mitch Porter says his side need to find another gear after admittedly "coasting" through parts of the season.

"It's been pretty different to last year, I thought we were very up and down with our performances with a lot of the same squad," Porter said.

"This year we've been coasting at times because we've had that many changes throughout the club. I don't think we've had a full-strength side this year.

"This week we're pretty much full strength so Pete's had a few more sleepless nights. It's pretty exciting to see what we can actually do."

A win would be the first time the Devils have claimed a major scalp since grabbing back-to-back wins over Collegians and Thirroul in rounds five and six.

The dropped both return clashes at Parrish Park, leaving them without a big win since May, but Porter says belief remains high.

"I think we demonstrated the big-game experience we gained from last year against the Butchers at Gibson Park in the first round," he said.

"We put them to the sword a little bit and we had that good gritty win over Collies. I think we've been plateauing a bit over the rest of the season just waiting for these finals.

"They're here now and you can see the hunger there at training. Hopefully with the more experienced side we have now we can bring off those clutch moments."

The Devils took the direct path to last year's decider but Porter said the jury's still out on the best way to get there.

"It's different for us, I couldn't say whether it's better or not," he said.

"We watched the game on the weekend between the Butchers and Collies and they bashed each other which is what we were hoping for.

"The loser out of that game might be a bit dejected and limp into this game and we've had two weeks to freshen up so hopefully we can pull the trigger."