Down by 16 points with 24 minutes left and with Jarome Luai watching from the sidelines, Penrith fans could have been forgiven for thinking their dream of a premiership three-peat had come to an end.
Enter Nathan Cleary.
The Panthers' No. 7 delivered one of the most dazzling solo displays of his career to wrap up a 26-24 victory and yet another premiership.
The 25-year-old won the Clive Churchill Medal - his second of his career - with a performance former greats Andrew Johns and Billy Slater rated as one of the finest in the history of NRL grand finals.
Cleary has built a name for himself as a man for the big occasion but without Luai as his sidekick, the halfback did it all on his own to deny Brisbane a first premiership in 17 years.
Sunday's victory at Accor Stadium was the largest comeback win in an NRL grand final.
Luai dislocated his shoulder in the penultimate round of the regular season and while he returned in the preliminary final, he was hardly tested by a sub-par Melbourne outfit.
The Panthers' entire attack was out of sync in the opening 40 minutes and, while they had battered and beaten the Broncos, they only led 8-6 at halftime.
In contrast, the physical effort was there, with Moses Loeta dumping Pat Carrigan on his backside and Liam Martin dragging Reece Walsh back into the Broncos in-goal.
But Brisbane finally sparked into life after halftime and, after Luai went off clutching his shoulder, the Broncos ran amok to put 14 points on the Panthers in a 10-minute spell.
For once, Penrith suddenly didn't look like the superhuman behemoth they had become under Cleary's father Ivan.
Luai appeared glum on the sidelines and adding to Penrith's misery was the fact co-captain Isaah Yeo had to go off for a head injury assessment.
But Cleary took matters into his own hands with less than 20 minutes left.
With Jack Cogger filling in for Luai, Cleary was given licence to run.
"I wanted to do that (step up) once 'Romey' and 'Yeoy' went off it kind of felt like a free shot," Cleary said.
"We had nothing to lose to be honest. We're in a grand final, that's why I give credit to 'Coggs' for unlocking me."
And run he did, bursting through the Broncos' line to set up Moses Leota.
The comeback was alive, ever so slightly.
Cleary kept it burning by bravely kicking a pressure-relieving 40/20 on the very next set, which allowed the Panthers to score through Stephen Crichton.
And while a knee issue had prevented Cleary from kicking for goal early on, with the premiership on the line he stepped up to deliver perfect accuracy, before coming up with the match-winning try in the 78th minute.
"I had to remind myself, every part of me was saying it was easier to quit," Cleary said.
"But I had to keep fighting that feeling."
