MCG -- For Geelong, it wasn't so much the dam wall finally breaking as being swept away by the sort of tsunami to which the Cats haven't been subjected for decades.
In truth, even at half-time, with scores level, it had felt like Brisbane had the better of proceedings, but failed to capitalise on its advantage.
But boy, the Lions certainly rectified that little problem in the second half with 13 goals to just six, and four of those six the Cats kicked coming in junk time after Brisbane's lead had blown out over 10 goals.
The 47-point Grand Final defeat was Geelong's heaviest of the season, the only other loss even in the same ballpark significantly also against Brisbane at GMHBA Stadium (41 points). Indeed, the Lions can be safely said to have the Cats' measure, the 2025 scoreline 3-1.
And so for a fifth time out of six since the current final eight system came into existence in 2000, a Grand Final rematch of a qualifying final produced a reversal of the initial result, this time in a stunning 95-point turnaround.
What went wrong for Geelong that had gone right three weeks ago? Stoppages, for one. In the qualifying final, Brisbane was just as dominant for hitouts as it was in the Grand Final, but the Cats still won the clearance count.
But in the game that mattered, the Lions held sway 52-37, and they scored heavily from those stoppage wins.
That gave them more looks (an inside 50 count of 66 to the Cats' 51) and 13 marks inside the forward 50 compared to just six in the qualifying final. And as the early profligacy of the likes of Zac Bailey gave way to Brisbane suddenly being unable to miss, the writing for Geelong was on the wall.
"It's not like we expected them to just come out and do exactly what happened in the qualifying final," said Tom Atkins in the dejected Geelong rooms after the game. "We thought they might change a few things up, but, yeah, it just was just one of those days. It didn't really go our way for most of it."
Like the arm injury to Jeremy Cameron shortly before half-time, for example, which left him notably less than 100%. Given his obvious importance to the Cats, that left coach Chris Scott hobbled in terms of being able to make a call on a potential substitute until much later.
The contrast with the Brisbane bench was palpable. The Lions rolled the dice on springing substitute Lachie Neale at half-time, and it had enormous impact, the dual Brownlow medallist pivotal from the word go.
Cameron, in contrast, stayed on (the Cats eventually subbing out a badly out-of-touch Rhys Stanley) but apart from an inspiring tackle on Jaspa Fletcher which ended in a goal to the Cats' Max Holmes, he could exert little impact.
But the Coleman medallist wasn't the only key Cat to have a most untimely quiet one, none more damagingly than skipper Patrick Dangerfield, who had only six disposals after quarter-time, completely blanketed by Brandon Starcevich. Mark Blicavs had been huge for the Cats' in their first two finals, but not so in this one.
Perhaps a key difference, too, was the Cats' more peripheral team members relative to Brisbane's. Some defensive shakiness from the likes of Connor O'Sullivan and Jhye Clark was costly for Geelong on occasions. But then even their senior teammates were a bit fumbly and guilty of sloppy disposal and needless turnovers.
It was all a far cry from the stroll in the park which had been Geelong's last Grand Final appearance in 2022, when the heavily-fancied Cats romped home against a raw Sydney outfit.
That was never going to be the case against a team as seasoned as Brisbane, reigning premier and a side which had already beaten Geelong twice from their three meetings this season.
It means the Cats' record in Grand Finals since what is generally regarded as the beginning of their golden era (2007) is 4-3. If you want to play the pessimist, including the last game of the VFL (when they lost the 1989 epic to Hawthorn), it's 4-7.
Ironically though, and perhaps perverse as it sounds, Geelong's long-term prospects might still be looking brighter in the shadow of this defeat than they were after the then oldest team in the history of league football wiped the Swans off the park three years ago.
That was a group which was on a mission, had its fill, and perhaps not unpredictably, missed finals altogether the following year. This version was a senior list in totality younger than its opponent, Geelong in 2025 with only the fifth-oldest group in the competition.
Surely no one this time is going to put paid to the Cats' chances for the following season?
"No, definitely not," says Atkins. "I think we had, how many people playing in their first Grand Final, maybe 10? So yeah, it's really exciting for the club. These are great learnings.
"They really hurt, but there are great learnings to be had in losing games like this. And we'll definitely be better for the run. And yeah, we'll be back. We'll be trying as hard as we can to get back here as soon as possible.
"We don't apologise for putting ourselves at the pointy end every year. I can still remember Joel (Selwood) saying that when he was captain, and it still rings true. You know, there has to be 17 losers. And times like these, sometimes you wish you missed finals. But we don't want to feel that way. We want to put ourselves up there every year. We want to compete and give ourselves the opportunity to achieve greatness."
This was a bad day for Geelong. But there have been remarkably few of them over the past couple of decades. And even in recognising this one, you knew better than to doubt what Atkins was insisting.
You can read more of Rohan Connolly's work at FOOTYOLOGY.