James O'Connor joked he "might hang the boots up" after sinking the match-winning penalty to end a career-long trophy drought with his beloved Brothers.
The Wallaby playmaker looked to have missed his chance with the Brethren trailing 27-26 after sending a late conversion attempt wide.
But there was late drama to come for O'Connor, who stepped up to make amends with a simple penalty goal attempt and two minutes remaining to secure Brothers' Hospital Cup defence over a devastated Wests Bulldogs 29-27.
"That one was a gimme," O'Connor said of his eventual matchwinner.
"I was just trying to waste as much time as possible knowing that we had to hold the ball for a minute.
"That was one of the scrappiest games I've been a part of but it was also beautiful. There were line breaks everywhere, great defence pieces, and a few errors.
"It was a mixed bag but we stuck tight and at the end of the game we were the ones on top. It's a great feeling, might hang the boots up," he joked.
Post-game, Reds and Brothers lock Ryan Smith paid tribute to stablemate O'Connor and the wider Butchery.
"It just shows this club's built on hard work and really getting after it, so it's great to see that hard work throughout the year paying off through to the 80th minute," Smith said.
"After Rabs (O'Connor) missed that kick, he was first to put his hand up and say what's next, and what the job was - to take the kickoff, get down their end and wait for the mistake.
"We knew we just needed to go through the processes and play in the right areas of the field, so lucky for us that's the way it went."
Special mention must also go to Brothers eight-man Brad Hemopo, whose effort play to charge down a Mason Gordon conversion attempt ultimately proved the difference
A devastated Wests skipper Henry Speight gave credit to Brothers and warned his Bulldogs would "be back" after consecutive grand final defeats in 2023 and 2024 following 2022's title run.
"Congratulations to Brothers, it was a tough one out there and well deserved," Speight told Stan Sports post-game.
"(They've) been the teams everyone’s been chasing all season and we’ll be back to come get (them) next year, I couldn't be prouder of my boys".
