NRL's Eels a perfect fit for Simonsson

It was coach Brad Arthur, out doing hill runs at 5:30am.

Simonsson had packed his bags after three years in Canberra and joined the Eels with the expressed purpose of learning from Arthur.

As his new coach sweated and strained up Stone Mason Drive in the early morning light, Simonsson felt vindicated.

"I knew from that moment that this was a good place, this was a hardworking place," Simonsson told AAP.

"(Arthur) sets the standard. He's honest and I don't think any coach works harder. He's someone you really want to play for.

"As soon as I came to the club, he had myself and a couple of the other new boys over for dinner with his family at his house.

"He does a lot of little things that people don't know about to go out of his way to make people comfortable and feel welcome."

Arthur's critics mark September in their calendar: his finals record at the Eels had been 2-7 prior to 2022.

But he is now 80 minutes away from becoming the Eels' first premiership-winning coach since 1986 and a chance to shut the door on skepticism of his credentials once and for all.

It won't take a win to confirm Simonsson's belief in his coach, though.

"He's the man for the job here," Simonsson said.

"The boys love and respect him. You couldn't pick a better coach to lead this club. He's a great person."

Usually a winger, Simonsson filled in for the injured Tom Opacic at centre in the preliminary final defeat of North Queensland and has been named to do so again in the grand final.

With his coach behind him, Simonsson is ready for the task of replacing Opacic, who could still be called in from the extended squad if he recovers in time.

"(Arthur) has got faith in all his players and he really makes you believe in yourself," he said.

"I grew up playing centre, I've played a lot of centre before.

"I feel comfortable there. It's just about going out there and doing a job, it doesn't matter where you play."