The Newcastle Knights have advanced to within 80 minutes of a grand final after a stunning but controversial victory over the New Zealand Warriors in Auckland.
The influence of the referees will be debated over the coming days, but there is little doubt they impacted the back-end of the game in particular.
Still, the Warriors simply weren't good enough, and their season has gone up in straight sets smoke, while the Knights continue their incredible run, having won the wooden spoon last year.
Here are the big talking points from the game.
Klein and Butler got it wrong. They can't be the grand final combination
Ashley Klein and Chris Butler had a bad game.
I don't like criticising referees, but there is absolutely no getting around the fact they had a poor game on Sunday afternoon.
The penalty - or lack thereof in the final minute as Tyson Frizell ran the most obvious escort of the year - will be the talking point, but there were more eyebrow-raising decisions.
Klein can somewhat be forgiven. On-field, there are excuses, particularly in that noisy, unforgiving environment that was created at Eden Park.
In the bunker, there are no excuses.
The issue now is that the duo are likely to officiate the grand final as they did the entirety of the State of Origin series.
That, frankly, can't be allowed to happen. Accountability is a word thrown around when the public talk about referees, but if there is any, changes will be on the way.
Leka Halasima will be Warriors' X-Factor in 2027
Leka Halasima was the Warriors' bright spot on Sunday afternoon, even as their season came to an end.
He was absolutely outstanding, particularly with the ball in hand.
That is maybe not a surprise given some of the performances he has churned out in the centres in recent times, but it has now become a genuine argument whether he should play there next year.
If you could level one piece of criticism at the Warriors during the second half of the year, it was that they didn't have enough X-Factor.
Halasima playing in the centres provides just that, and it's scary to realise the level he could be at with a full pre-season there under his belt.
Phoenix Crossland is unbelievably underrated
Phoenix Crossland, once a half, then a lock, and now a dummy half, has become one of the most important rakes in the competition.
Of course, that's like saying water is oxygen is one of the most important ingredients to life - a team doesn't function without a good number nine at either end of the park.
But what Crossland has been able to turn himself in to is something quite special at this point of his career.
His performance on Sunday was at another level again. He made more than 50 tackles and had elite service behind the ruck, but the game-saving plays, the importance of his tackles, the popping up to diffuse bouncing balls.
He did absolutely everything, and while it's natural ability that allows him to go about his work, it's a sheer work ethic and desire to win that makes him who he is, and what he is to the Newcastle Knights both as a footy club, and a team who have bought into the culture of their working class town.
Kalyn Ponga is why the Knights are a chance at the premiership
Kalyn Ponga, right up until the moment he got wiped out of the contest against the Warriors, was simply phenomenal on Sunday afternoon.
He made over 200 metres, ran the ball strongly, and was involved in absolutely everything good for the visitors, finishing with a ridiculous 16 tackle busts.
Ponga's form in recent weeks has been just that, almost making his performance on Sunday unsurprising, if that's even possible given the numbers he racked up.
Ponga, particularly with Dylan Brown out, is everything to the Knights.
If they are going to win the competition - and there is no reason now to think they definitely can't - then he will have two blinders left in the campaign.
No Metcalf, no Warriors?
The headline here could probably be considered a little unfair, but the point is, frankly, valid.
The New Zealand Warriors very clearly lacked direction with the ball in hand as they stumbled and fumbled their way through the Eden Park clash on Sunday.
Their completion rate was poor, kicking game not quite good enough, and they seemed to rush things with the ball in hand.
That's not to say Chanel Harris-Tavita and Te Maire Martin aren't good players, but the straight sets elimination will sting, and it's clear that the duo as a combination probably aren't right for this time of year.
The Warriors didn't have Luke Metcalf available, of course, but that's going to be the case next year when he moves to the St George Illawarra Dragons.
The Warriors aren't going to bring in a new fact this late in the piece who will move the needle, so Harris-Tavita, Martin, and the return fo Tanah Boyd will need to find a way.
Boyd had an unreal first half of 2026 before copping the ACL injury.
His return next year, and whether he can play like the Boyd of 2026, and not the Boyd of the Gold Coast Titans, could determine their entire campaign.
I’m not surprised at all. The Warriors have the power to get up field, but their halves are bog average. Good club footballers but nowhere near good enough to win a premiership.