With one of the most stunning and resilient finals performances in recent memory, the Newcastle Knights scored 16 unanswered points after the sending off of front rower Phoenix Crossland for a dangerous hip drop tackle that broke the ankle of Penrith half Nathan Cleary.
Crossland became the sixth Knights player in NRL history to be evicted, just weeks after teammate Jacob Saifiti was banned for four matches for a high tackle on Warriors winger Luke Laulilii.
With the Knights' chances of Grand Final qualification seemingly shot from that moment, knowing just how difficult Penrith's defence is to break through even with 13 men, hopes were quickly drained amongst the Novocastrian fanbase.
The Knights held steely and, with a man down, scored the final three tries of the game, with Dominic Young outmuscling Dylan Edwards before Sandon Smith caught the Panthers players with their backs turned at a penalty restart and then intercepted a pass from Liam Martin in the final minute of the game to ice the victory.
Newcastle's second longest-serving player, legendary half Andrew Johns (253 games), was left speechless on television commentary as Smith ran across the field to confirm the victory for the Knights in the dying seconds.
"What an effort, with 12 men," Johns quipped before taking a deep breath.
"I can imagine what it means back home for people," he added before dropping his microphone onto the desk to regather his composure.
Usually not lost for words, 'Joey' is the last Knights captain to win a Premiership after an against-the-odds 30-24 victory over minor premiers and warm favourites Parramatta Eels.
Johns led from the front with a Clive Churchill Medal-winning performance, finishing the season with 13 tries and 98 goals.
He had predicted last week that the Knights are "going to win a premiership sometime soon" because of captain Kalyn Ponga, who is mirroring the Knights legend both as an inspirational leader and their best player.
Ponga was instrumental in Newcastle's gritty final ten minutes, holding up Jesse McLean over the try line in the 72nd minute and slamming 107kg Panthers front-rower Moses Leota with a bone-crunching tackle in the 76th, one tackle before his teammates caused Lindsay Smith to spill the ball forward.
Matthew Johns played alongside his younger brother Andrew as a halves pairing for several years before being squeezed out of the club by salary cap constraints at the end of the 2000 season after 176 first-grade games.
It was effectively a new contract for Andrew that ended Matt's time at the Knights, spurring him to take up a new life at English Super League club at Wigan, and the heartbreak of missing the 2001 Premiership is something Matt has not spoken about in great detail.
His love of the Knights despite the difficult end to his time there remains undeniable and was on show on Sunday evening when, on the eponymous Matty Johns show, he was overcome with emotion when paying tribute to the support base.
"I'm so happy for all the fans who have had to put up with a lot of s**t for a lot of years to get back to where they are now," he said.
"Even for the fans who got to the game today, nothing was straightforward. There was a breakdown on the rail line, then the cars were backed up on the M1, but it didn't stop them in the wet.
"When you run out onto the field, and you look up and see all of those Newcastle fans, you don't leave the field defeated."
"When you get past 50, you cry at anything," Johns joked with tears falling down his cheeks.