It is the return home Wayne Bennett never planned.
But Bennett and St George Illawarra's path to the premiership faces a major detour this week following yesterday's shock 25-12 loss to Parramatta at WIN Jubilee Oval.
The Dragons are now staring at a do-or-die final at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night against the Brisbane Broncos - this is the club where Bennett won six premierships in 20 years in charge.
SLIDESHOW: Eels slay the Dragons Full coverage of The St George Illawarra Dragons
Dragons' biggest fan competition Bennett moved from Brisbane to Wollongong in October, flying back to Brisbane to be with his family once a month.
But lose on Saturday and he will be free to spend some time in Queensland before planning his campaign for next season.
Under the McIntyre finals series, the top-ranked loser St George Illawarra is forced to travel to Brisbane, who were the third highest ranked winner after their victory over the Gold Coast on Saturday night.
The winner of Saturday night's game faces a preliminary final against Melbourne the following week.
"I'm not a fan of it," Bennett said of the finals structure which has put him on a collision course with his old club.
"'I think what happened here highlights again why I'm not, but it's just the system and that's what we play under.
"You can certainly be beaten by (team) eight, it happened to the Storm last year."
The Dragons' loss also left premiers Manly out of the finals series after their defeat to Melbourne on Friday night.
Just a week ago the Dragons were celebrating with the JJ Giltinan Shield after snatching the minor premiership from the Bulldogs with a stunning 37-0 demolition of Parramatta at the same ground.
But after launching sustained pressure on the Eels in the opening 17 minutes, the Dragons' only reward was a Jamie Soward penalty goal.
From there Parramatta settled into the contest taking a 12-8 lead at half-time.
Young Eels five-eighth Daniel Mortimer broke the game open when he soared above Wendell Sailor, batting the ball back into the arms of team-mate Luke Burt to score between the posts in the 26th minute.
Five minutes later Mortimer had a try of his own, skipping out of a tackle from Dragons hooker Dean Young to plant the ball down.
After holding the ascendancy for so long, St George Illawarra forced their way back into the contest when a Matt Cooper break led to Jamie Soward turning the ball inside for Dan Hunt to score in the 36th minute, closing the gap to 12-8 at half-time.
Hooker Nathan Fien produced a potentially game-changing 40-20 kick, but they failed to capitalise on their opportunity.
Cooper found his way over the line, but it was called back after second-rower Ben Creagh couldn't handle a Ben Hornby pass and knocked on.
Moments later the Dragons got the ball back, but a Jamie Soward cut-out pass intended for Brett Morris was intercepted by Eels winger Eric Grothe, who sprinted 85m to score at the other end.
Superstar fullback Jarryd Hayne put the icing on the cake, beating six defenders on his way to the try line to seal the 13-point win.
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