The circumstances were worlds apart, but for the second time in just over a week, Darren Lockyer led a side to victory at Suncorp Stadium, once again proving himself a champion for every occasion.
When Queensland sealed their sixth-straight State of Origin series nine days ago, the spotlight on the retiring legend was burning as brightly as it had on any player in the game's history.
Lockyer sliced through the scrutiny, playing a calm hand in steering a champion team to a famous victory.
Returning to the NRL to face the last-placed Titans after a mid-season break, the atmosphere was halved and the conditions miserable, but Lockyer's class remained constant.
Scores were level at half-time and the visiting Gold Coast side went into the break with confidence.
It took Lockyer less than a minute after the break to slash their tyres, as he broke the line and found Jharal Yow Yeh for the first of his three second-half try assists.
"It was a great captain's knock there that second-half tonight. It was exactly what we needed," said coach Anthony Griffin.
"The way he's played in the Origin and earlier in the year for us, he's playing some of his better football, and to be able to do that in his last year is a great credit to him."
"It's a sign of his class and his professionalism, and we would have been in trouble in that second-half without him."
The 30-10 derby victory means the Broncos now need just two wins from the final seven rounds to be guaranteed a place in the finals, and should the Cowboys fail to account for the Tigers on Saturday night, they'll be sitting pretty in the top four.
With star-laden, competition leaders Melbourne to play next weekend, Brisbane's second-half efficiency was a welcome sight for Griffin, who was unhappy with the first 40 minutes and suggested the time had come to start closing in on finals form.
"20-nil (in the second half) – that's the style of football we need to be playing at this time of the year," he said.
"There were too many errors, we gave away too many penalties – we were just poor in the first half."
"We've given ourselves a chance to play some semi-finals if we're good enough this year. And we've got to play semi-finals football."
"Next week we're playing the top team in the competition at their home ground. You've got to prepare for that."