18-18 with 10 minutes left on the clock and plenty of momentum swinging between both sides.
Even if the Dragons got done by a late try or a trademark Adam Reynolds field goal, the side would have been mighty pleased with their efforts against the NRL's front-runners.
But what ensued in the space of nine minutes will cause the alarm bells to sound once again for the under-siege St George Illawarra franchise, with the Broncos running in four tries to claim a 40-18 victory at Suncorp Stadium.
Reece Walsh was electric in the dying stages, while representative front-rower Payne Haas proved once again why he is worth every penny in a dominant display.
MORE: Bellamy lost for answers after Storm loss | Titans coach explains Foran decision
Speaking to the media after the game, Dragons coach Anthony Griffin was left disappointed by the late collapse but pointed out the positive features of the performance.
“It was probably the last 10 minutes to be fair," he said.
"We had control of the game in the first-half but we just didn’t come out with enough intensity defensively in the second-half and they sat us on our tryline.
"We had to do seven sets and that just obviously gassed us a bit in the conditions. I thought we hung on really well and levelled back up and Ravalawa’s break was the one we needed, but we threw it away on the next play.
"There was nothing in the game for 70 minutes, it was a bizarre last 10 obviously – really tough conditions out there and one team was going to crack and unfortunately, I think we’d only had 10 sets to their 20 by that stage.
"One team was going to crack, it was a really high-quality arm wrestle – we got starved of the ball and we did that to ourselves.
“We were way on top, which is a positive thing. For 70 minutes we had struggled and scrapped and stayed in the game.
"I was really impressed with our resolve and the way we went about it…we just lost our way and handed them the ball. They are a good side, they are the best team in the comp over the three rounds."
The likes of Francis Molo, Tyrell Sloan and Moses Suli were all strong for the visitors, while bench forwards Josh Kerr and Michael Molo gave the Saints a real shot in the arm mid-way through the opening stanza.
Some slip-ups from both Jayden Sullivan and Ben Hunt proved to be extremely costly, with the skipper admitting to his fault in the loss with a couple of expletives added on top.
With a minute left on the clock before the break, Hunt looked to throw a cut-out pass but after it went over the sideline, opposing captain Reynolds was able to slot a two-point field-goal to reduce the Dragons' lead.
In the second-half with the game on the line, Sullivan placed a kick towards the in-goal area on second tackle with the side in control, but it led to a seven-tackle set after Zac Lomax failed to get the ball down for a try.
“I was trying to hit Mat Feagai there running down the sideline and I came out there and it was f****g shit, not a very good pass...that obviously gave them a boost going into half-time," Hunt said.
“He’s a good young player Sully and he’s eager to learn and build on his game every week. It’s good to see him backing himself and playing some good footy – there’s some stuff that he needs to learn…I think he is heading in the right direction.
“After the first try there was eight minutes to go and we though if we kicked deep we could get back into it, but I think we were just out of gas.
"The talk behind the posts was positive and they were keen to get down there, but they just rolled down the field again and got another try. The amount of ball they had early in the second-half just took it out of us."
