When the whips are cracking and the stakes are highest, Sidebottom has rarely disappointed over the course of his 210-game career.

And it doesn't happen naturally or by accident.

There's not an ounce of 'it'll be all right on the night' about his preparation for big games.

He doesn't have ice in his veins or nerves of steel - he's just hell-bent on making sure he's worked harder than his opponent.

"I do get a little bit nervous but as soon as I rock up to the ground is when I feel at my calmest and safest," Sidebottom told AAP.

"It's what I do (for a living) so I try to prepare myself to be as calm and calculated as I can be.

"If I was a singer then I would be preparing myself the same way before I went out to sing in front of a big crowd.

"That's when you need to be at your calmest ... everything that I do during the week and on game day is to make me, hopefully, more prepared than my opponent is to perform."

The 27-year-old's track record of elite performance when it matters most and a stellar season that saw him finish second to Hawthorn's Tom Mitchell in the Brownlow count has seen him installed as favourite to win the Norm Smith Medal on Saturday.

Sidebottom was just 19 when he gathered 25 possessions and kicked two goals to poll two votes fewer than Norm Smith medallist Scott Pendlebury in the Pies' 2010 grand final replay win.

He had 23 disposals and kicked another two goals in a losing grand final a year later.

Clearly, the pressure and scrutiny of grand final week is not something that gets to him.

"There are so many more distractions in grand final week ... you want to keep it as normal as possible but it's just not," he said.

"I think it's important to accept that.

"We've had a focus on just enjoying everything that we've been a part of this year.

"Clearly finals don't come around for every club every year ... you've got to work hard for that and also enjoy it.

"We've made it to this position now and we're just looking forward to it."

Australian Associated Press