Brisbane stunning collapse from the NRL top four to out of the finals is complete after a 22-12 loss to St George Illawarra effectively ended their season and handed Canberra eighth spot.
With everything to play for at Kogarah, the Broncos barely put themselves in the contest before Ben Hunt and Mat Feagai performed the last rites on a horror end to 2022 for Brisbane.
Canberra had entered the weekend believing they would need to beat Wests Tigers on Sunday to wrap up their top-eight spot.
But with Brisbane's collapse, the Raiders will now face Melbourne in an elimination final next Saturday unless they somehow lose by 54 points to the last-placed Tigers.
The result also means Broncos will become the first team since Canberra in 1999 to miss the finals with a winning record
Brisbane only have themselves to blame.
They sat in the top four as recently as round 19, but have since won just one of six games and conceded an average of 35 points per match.
In turn, they are now the only team since to fall from the top four so late in the season to out of the finals since the NRL introduced a top-eight system in 1995.
And it was a bunch of former Broncos who sealed the longest finals drought in the club's history.
Of the six ex-Brisbane players in the Dragons side, Jack Bird scored the game's first try before Hunt was the Red V's best as he staked one final claim for the Dally M Medal.
The halfback starred, kicking a 40-20 in the lead-up to one try and skipping free and putting on a one-handed ball for Cody Ramsey to score another.
He also pulled off a crucial last-ditch tackle on Zac Hosking with 13 minutes to play, keeping the Dragons' 16-12 lead intact.
And he eventually linked up with Mat Feagai for the decisive play, putting the winger into space and helping him bump off seven Broncos for a 50-metre try with four minutes to play.
No player has won the league's MVP award outright without making the finals since Danny Buderus in 2004, but Hunt was the clubhouse leader when voting went behind closed doors in round 12 and is every chance to take it out.
In comparison, Brisbane were wasteful as both Tom Flegler and Kotoni Staggs were sin-binned for high shots.
Te Maire Martin showed moments of danger at the back before copping a knock, while Pat Carrigan also ran 181 metres on return from suspension at lock.
But they produced errors on three separate attacking raids in the first half, only building pressure once before Delouise Hoeter stepped through a hole to make it 6-6.
Billy Walters also managed to get the game back to 16-12 with 20 minutes to play, before Feagai's late heroics for the Dragons ended any hope of a Broncos miracle.
