The Penrith Panthers were blown to bits with injuries during their preliminary final, when they went down 22-14 in a thrilling Grand Final qualifier.
Nathan Cleary was rushed to hospital after a compound fracture to his leg before half-time, ruling him out of the World Cup and faces a long recovery period.
Cleary confirmed Dylan Edwards ruptured his PCL in the first half of the match but soldiered through, casting a significant amount of doubt on his availability for the World Cup.
"Dyl Edwards ruptured his PCL in the first half tonight, (he) played on," Cleary said in his post-match press conference.
"We probably just fell apart a bit.
"I think that's why I was even more emotional on what happened to him (Nathan's injury), how hard he worked and what he put himself through to get himself to play today."
They weren't the only Panthers to go down with an injury cloud.
Blaze Talagi also suffered a ruptured Achilles in the second half and was immediately taken off the field and watched his side on from the sidelines, forcing Luke Garner to push out to the centres.
It has also thrown his World Cup plans out the window for Samoa, and he faces an extended period of rehab back to full match fitness.
Meanwhile, Isaah Yeo was "not sure" whether he will play in the World Cup, admitting he'll hold conversations with the club around surgery for next week.
Yeo has been playing through the finals series with a torn pec, in a courageous act of leadership.
Cleary mounted plenty of praise on the Knights after their hard-fought victory, who played most of the match with 12-men and still came away with the win.
"I wanna pay full credit to the Knights and their supporters, just a great day for their club and sets up a pretty good Grand Final," Ivan added.
The Knights will progress to the big dance against the Sydney Roosters on Sunday week.
There are plenty of fairytale storylines brewing during Grand Final week, including Sandon Smith getting the ultimate revenge over his old team after he conjured up one of the best performances of his career.
Or how Justin Holbrook has been a huge part of Trent Robinson's football program in past seasons before he headed up the M1.
Phoenix Crossland may be rubbed out of the Grand Final with suspension for his hip-drop on Cleary, but the squad came out of Week 3 relatively healthy in a big bonus for the novocastrians looking for their first title in 25 years.
