Melbourne Storm have dealt a blow to Brisbane Broncos' minor premiership ambitions with a 32-22 win at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night.
The result means the Broncos now need Penrith Panthers to lose their match with North Queensland Cowboys to finish atop the table.
The win also sees the Storm temporarily leapfrog NZ Warriors into third place on the ladder.
Victory for the Warriors over the Dolphins on Saturday would see the NZ side reclaim that spot and put all eyes on the Panthers-Cowboys result, which will determine whether they play the Broncos or the Panthers in week one of their long-awaited return to the NRL post-season.
In a preview of a potential match-up for week one of the playoffs, Storm fullback Ryan Papanhuyzen looked superb in his first start for the club this season after a long injury lay-off - scoring a try, handing out an assist and running for 135m.
But debutant Sualauvi Faalogo stole the show with a scintillating display in his maiden first-grade outing, terrorising the Broncos' defenders with his pace en route to a try-double.
One of those efforts could be in the running for try of the season, with Faalogo sparking a movement inside his own half, before combining with Papenhuyzen to finish in the corner.
After finishing with over 100m, five tackle busts and two linebreaks, Storm coach Craig Bellamy said the 20-year-old is destined to become a fixture at first-grade level.
"He still needs to learn a few things about the game, which we're trying to do as quickly as we can," Bellamy said. "But we all see the potential that he's got. I'm sure he's going to be a regular first grade in the not-too-distant future."
With both teams resting a shot of first-choice players, the Storm had to come from behind three times during the contest, as they clinched 14th straight win over the Broncos since 2017.
"I was really proud the way they played tonight," Bellamy added.
"We had a couple of little rough patches there, but the way they fought back from being 12-0 [down] and then the Broncos scored first in the second half, that didn't seem to knock the enthusiasm out of them at all.
"They just never give up and kept hanging in there and we got the result in the end."
Melbourne Storm 32 (Anderson 2, Faalogo 2, Papenhuyzen, Smith tries, Papenhuyzen 4 cons) Brisbane Broncos 22 (Pereira 2, Flegler tries, Rogers 3 cons, 2 pens)
