As it turns out, the All Stars crisis that threatened the future of the concept wasn't a crisis at all. The Gold Coast rallied late to fill the stands, the players gave their all in spirit and deed and the game must now surely live on for future seasons, one way or another.
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A week of wonderful community and educational work had been clouded by constant chatter of poor ticket sales and flagging interest. With the Gold Coast already having been read its rugby league Last Rites, nothing could be taken for granted.
Come game day, the famously fickle fans of the region realised they were onto a good thing after all. They trickled towards Robina on Friday evening, then poured themselves into CBUS Super Stadium, with the final tally reaching 23,177, double some of the early predictions.
They would see the Indigenous All Stars defeat the NRL All Stars 20-6 in a satisfyingly tense and energetic contest, missing the devil-may-care attack that the All Stars name might imply but full of the kind of quality play that made a mockery of the pre-season timeslot.
There was something for everyone. Paul Gallen managed to find himself on report, Johnathan Thurston kept refusing to lose and Greg Inglis, in a glimpse into the future reminiscent of late-career Gene Miles, spent some time in the forwards.
Wayne Bennett had done wonders in talking up his NRL All Stars, filling their bellies with fire and instructing them that they had to play hard and fast to do justice to the proud Indigenous men standing opposite.
They were duly sent out favourites behind a massive forward pack, which most had thought would simply power their way forward and take the contest.
But this was never going to be played like a standard, high-completion NRL match. It was intense and physical but daring and spacious from the start, with neither side fearing a coach's rebuke for daring to fling it wide, or chipping early in the set.
Anyway, Inglis is hardly a small man and performed like a giant, from the moment he menacingly rose like a dreamtime spirit from the middle of his players during the wonderful pre-game war dance.
Such was the determination of the Indigenous All Stars to win the contest that they opted for a shot at goal while leading 12-6 with 10 minutes left to play.
Johnathan Thurston hit it sweetly from 40m out and result would be set in stone. The week spent with the community matters greatly for the Indigenous men but winning remains the cherry on top.
As if to illustrate the fact league season had officially arrived, Gallen, the NRL All Stars lock, went in the book for a forearm on Kyle Turner after just five minutes. Turner would get up and leave the field, eventually, but already the niceties had gone up in smoke.
The play from that point was hectic and full of attacking optimism. The Indigenous All Stars saw a pathway down the left, through Justin Hodges and Alex Johnston, forcing the defence to scramble more than once.
After 26 minutes of rugby league, the first crack emerged as the NRL All Stars flung it swiftly to the right, with Mitchell Pearce's straight run, then bullet pass, helping set up Dylan Walker in the corner.
In the first of what will be endless instances this season, the decision was sent to the video referee after to examine the decoy run of Beau Scott. Green light this time but neither verdict would have greatly surprised.
There was no doubting the next. Inglis was charging onto a towering cross-kick from Tyrone Roberts in the 51st minute. Seconds later, he was stretching out in his famous goanna celebration and scores had been levelled at 6-6.
Will Chambers, who took a knock early in the second half, bolted over with 15 minutes to play to give the Indigenous All Stars a 12-6 lead.
Thurston's goal, plus a late try to Chris Grevsmuhl, would be the final instalment as the Indigenous All Stars gathered all of the late momentum.
