It took 40 minutes for the Melbourne juggernaut to sputter out of finals contention and roll to a crossroads.
In Friday's 38-4 preliminary final loss to Penrith, the Storm were in the fight for 15 minutes, lagged behind for the next 25, and spent the final 40 seemingly powerless to save their season.
Justin Olam and Trent Loiero bombed a certain try that could have put Melbourne up at least 8-4 in the first half. Each of the Panthers' first three tries came directly after either an error or penalty from the Storm. In total, Melbourne missed 53 tackles.
But the real question is, where to now?
The Storm began the year warning fans that this would be a year on the grow.
Coach Craig Bellamy was open about the challenges that would come with rearing a young side after the loss of several veterans in the off-season.
The likes of Will Warbrick, Tyran Wishart and Jonah Pezet all announced themselves as stars of the future on the road to the finals series.
But once there the gulf between Melbourne, the heavyweights of yesteryear, and the current world-beaters became glaringly apparent.
Brisbane spanked the Storm 26-0 in the first week, the Sydney Roosters came within a sliver of bundling them out in the second and the Panthers were even more brutal than the Broncos in the third.
But now that 2023 has come to a decisive end, what does 2024 look like for Melbourne?
For a start, the Storm have not recruited a single new player.
Significant money is tied up in fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen, who faces a long recovery from the latest in a string of injuries.
The ankle fracture he suffered in the first week of the finals series will at the very least impact what could have been a much-needed injury-free pre-season.
Cameron Munster and Harry Grant, two of Melbourne's key men, could not handle the pressure of this year's finals series and face plenty more as they hope to rouse the Storm to their feet next year.
Outside backs Reimis Smith and Justin Olam fell dramatically out of favour as the season intensified, but were recalled as the finals series threatened to slip away.
It remains to be seen whether Young Tonumaipea and Marion Seve will usurp them in the centres next year but neither is a world-beater by anyone's metric.
The middle forward unit appears light at best. Nelson Asofa-Solomona cannot do everything himself, and on Friday night, no Melbourne middle ran for more than 100 metres.
Tariq Sims and Tepai Moeroa, both first-graders this year, are without deals beyond 2023.
Over two decades, Melbourne have reinvented themselves time and time again to retain their heavyweight status.
But as another year ends and the post-mortem begins, rarely have the team with all the answers had so many question marks hanging about them.
