The sight of Newcastle talisman Kurt Gidley being stretchered off could not break the spirit of Newcastle as they ran out 26-18 NRL winners over Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.
However, the same could not be said for Brisbane after they finally had the finals door slammed shut in their face in their second-straight loss.
Brisbane arrived at their home ground on Friday night just one point outside the top eight but at 13th spot on a congested NRL ladder, knowing they could not let their guard slip again following last round's 28-12 loss at Penrith.
They appeared on track to keep their faint finals hopes alive when they led 14-6 at halftime in front of a 27,601-strong crowd.
And Broncos fans would still have been rejoicing when main threat Gidley was taken off in the 48th minute with a suspected left ankle injury, even after crossing to cut the second half deficit to 14-12.