NRLW heavyweights Brisbane will miss the finals series for the first time in the competition's history after a 28-16 loss to Parramatta in Gosford.
Brisbane — who won the first three NRLW premierships — finished with a 1-4 win-loss record to complete a fall from grace that started with an early exit from last season's finals.
In the second match of the NRLW triple-header at Central Coast Stadium, the Sydney Roosters defeated Gold Coast 38-12 to finish the regular season undefeated and become the first side other than Brisbane to clinch an NRLW minor premiership.
The win also confirmed the end of Gold Coast's season, meaning neither Queensland team will feature in the semifinals at Brisbane's Lang Park next week.
Consoled by Broncos coach Kelvin Wright in the media conference, an emotional captain Ali Brigginshaw said her side was "devastated" not to be featuring in the finals.
"It hurts so much because we put so much into sacrifices to be here today," she said.
"To put a performance on like that, we know we're better.
"It's just disappointing. We feel disappointed for our family and friends home watching.
"We tried so hard. We're going to learn from it but it just hurts."
Heading into the last round, the Broncos, Gold Coast and Parramatta all had chances to lock up fourth place and a finals spot.
The Eels were the only winless team of the three but by muscling up to beat the Broncos by more than six points were able to leapfrog the Queensland sides on points differential.
Forwards Kennedy Cherrington and Simaima Taufa spearheaded the team's physical effort, running for more than 250 metres each and scoring late tries that confirmed the most memorable win of Parramatta's short NRLW history.
"The performance was something I'm really proud of and something I'll remember for as long as I stay in footy," Eels coach Dean Widders said.
But both of the Eels' captains, Taufa and centre Tiana Penitani, appear in doubt for next week's semifinals with leg injuries, however.
"We'll have some assessment to do on everyone this week," Widders said.
"There are some tough injuries there. It's getting to that point in the season."
Wright said the Broncos failed to meet the standards of their NRLW rivals this year as he lamented their poor discipline against the Eels.
"I thought today we just put ourselves under too much pressure right from the start of the game with the errors that we were giving up," he said.
Up 14-6 at half-time, Parramatta could not turn pressure into points early in the second half and threatened to slip out of the contest when Brigginshaw masterminded a Broncos comeback.
But Taufa burst over to restore the Eels' lead with nine minutes to play, before partner-in-crime Cherrington sealed the result on the right.
The victory helped the Eels exorcise their demons from last year, when a last-round loss to the Broncos ruled them out of the play-offs.
Titans fall to unbeaten Roosters
With a victory of 15 or more points, the Titans could have ousted the Eels from fourth but were left to rue a slow start that had them down 12-0 after 14 minutes.
Gold Coast took it up to the reigning premiers in the second half, the sides scoring two tries apiece, but the Titans were unable to close the gap and will finish the season on the bottom of the ladder.
Roosters captain Isabelle Kelly said her side's best was yet to come.
"Every week we're getting better so we just need to stay humble within that and take the victories as they come," she said.
In the final game of the regular season, Newcastle defeated St George Illawarra 30-8 to take a mental edge into next week's semifinal between the two sides.
The Knights and Dragons went blow for blow before Newcastle winger Jessica Gentle slid over on debut, the beneficiary of a Jesse Southwell cut-out pass just before the break.
Newcastle tightened its control of possession in the second half, holding the Dragons scoreless and extending its slim advantage into a decisive victory.
The win continued a stunning turnaround for the Knights, who failed to win a game in their first campaign but finished their second as runners-up in the minor premiership.
AAP/ABC
