The Warriors were never in the match, despite having a lineup with considerably more star power and experience than the Eels. From the moment they let the kickoff bounce - always a cardinal sin in league - and Parramatta scored under the posts for a 7-0 lead with 30 seconds on the clock, there was an ominous feeling about the match.
It was downhill from there, as mistakes curtailed any chance of a comeback, despite a Roger Tuivasa-Sheck try giving a glimmer of hope just before halftime. Parramatta were relentless, never giving the Warriors - or the home support - a chance to make an impact on the match.
"We won the game on the back of our defence," said Eels coach Brad Arthur, celebrating their first significant trophy in more than a decade.
"We got a bit lucky early with the bounce of the ball but to their credit the boys aimed up."
Warriors captain Shaun Johnson was philosophical about the result.
"We had a chance, we put ourselves in a position but we just didn't have it," said Johnson.
"They started hot and we couldn't go with them. It's small margins. A couple of opportunist tries and when you are on your last legs on the second day it's hard to claw those back."
But the Warriors - who have incredible expectation on them across the weekend - deserve credit for making the final and some of their younger players caught the eye, particularly Nathaniel Roache. Tui Lolohea also looked sharp and probably needed to see more of the ball.
"It's been a big week, we had a lot of expectation on us," said coach Andrew McFadden.
"The big effort was getting [to the final] and they applied themselves terrifically."
Beyond the ultimate result, for most Warriors fans the main focus was on Johnson. Would he come through the weekend unscathed? Would he have the same impact after so many months away?
He suffered a corked thigh in the final but was otherwise physically fine. And Johnson showed he has still got it, especially with his houdini play against the Broncos in their final pool game. On the last tackle, with the Warriors 70 seconds from being eliminated from the tournament, Johnson sidestepped past three defenders to seal their passage to the last eight.
After that escape, the Warriors played with more freedom, eliminating the Raiders 16-8 in a physical encounter, The semi-final was their most impressive display of the event, a clinical 22-4 victory over the Gold Coast Titans.
