Wellington halfback TJ Perenara insists the Lions are a 'different team' from the one that was thrashed by Canterbury earlier in the NPC season.
Wellington were beaten 43-10 at Orangetheory Stadium in August, but will be out for revenge in the rematch and for the title at Christchurch on Saturday.
With a solitary loss to their name, Canterbury have been the form team of the regular season but face a side Perenara believes is poles apart from the outfit that they defeated more than two months ago.
Wellington have since won and defended the Ranfurly Shield, demolishing Auckland on their way to the final amid a nine-game win streak.
Perenara reveals the Lions have moved on from their early struggles and have since found their identity on the rugby field.
"It was a long time ago, to be fair," he said. "We're a different team now than we were then and we understand our strengths as a team and how we want to play the game of football.
"Yes, we lost to them in round two, but we're a different team now and we're looking forward to the challenge.
"It's what happened, it's a fact, we lost that game and I think people who try and say 'be positive about things' aren't being real to the situation.
"We lost a football game, it is what it is, we'll take our learnings from it and we'll grow. We're different because we understand how we want to play the game of rugby, we understand the strengths we have as a team.
"It was round two - a bunch of new boys, a few older boys in the environment jelling and we hadn't quite found our flow and I think we're in a really good spot for that now."
Following the NPC final, the in-form halfback will spearhead a 28-strong All Blacks XV squad to play Ireland A and the Barbarians in November.
Perenara was a surprise omission from All Blacks coach Ian Foster's All Blacks squads this season, but admits he expected to at least be in the XV side.
"I wasn't too surprised, I'm pretty happy with the way I'm playing rugby and I understand what I can do out on the football field," he said.
"To me, I was in contention for either of those two teams and I want to keep playing good rugby, keep playing winning rugby and the more I do that, the better opportunities I have.
"I can't control selection, but I control how I ball out on the field and the way I've been playing lately, I've enjoyed it."
Join us at 7pm, Saturday for live updates of the NPC final between Canterbury and Wellington
