As Ben Hunt raced away, my first instinct was to find the remote and turn the television off.
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My second thought was this is all my fault.
Which is quite the statement from a man in a passive and futile position 1000 kilometres away from Suncorp Stadium, on his lounge in Shellharbour, cursing Queensland for the millionth time.
But it hit me all the same.
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You see before the State of Origin series opener, the Mercury questioned how Hunt's career would be defined.
Having played more than 280 games for Brisbane and St George Illawarra and is the first to front up for interviews even after a crushing loss, Hunt deserves so much more than to be remembered for the infamous drop, in golden point of the 2015 grand final.
When it came to Origin, Hunt had played in three losing series, missed game three of the 2020 Queensland triumph and played a role off the bench on debut when the Maroons won in 2017.
For a player of such craft and experience, where was his moment?
And then it happened, in the most blindingly obvious way.
Wednesday night was supposed to be the coronation of a new king, Nathan Cleary, the NSW hero joining the ranks of 1994 and 2005 legends, the only teams to win deciders in Queensland.
Instead, it was Hunt who rose to the occasion.
The 32-year-old is running out of time to win an NRL premiership at the Dragons, but he's been one of the standout players of the season.
Here he was, playing terroriser-in-chief for Queensland.
Whatever the number on his back, Hunt just kept turning up, kicking a crucial 40-20 in the second half, before batting Cleary's desperate kick to himself and setting sail in the direction of the Caxton.
NSW coach Brad Fittler had said before the decider one team will want victory more. As we've seen so many times before, it was Queensland.
In the tight ones, it's almost always Queensland.
To do it when reduced to 15 fit men, due to the brutal collisions in the early stages, went beyond courage into a form of selfless rugby league recklessness.
When Daly Cherry-Evans kicked downfield early in the tackle count, Queensland's intent was clear.
They were hunting NSW, with and without the ball.
The Blues were brave, turning away wave after wave of attack, but after cruising to victory in Perth, had run out of petrol.
As he ran away to score, Hunt had broken the hearts of the NSW fan, in the spirit of Wally Lewis, Allan Langer, Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Johnathan Thurston.
He can now stand alongside them with an Origin legacy of his own.
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