Isaah Yeo insists he was never in any doubt to return from a head knock in Penrith's grand final triumph, despite being left in a state of confusion over his side's second-half comeback.
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Knocked to the floor after his head was collected by Kobe Hetherington's shoulder in the second half of Sunday's decider, Yeo cut a dejected figure as he left the field for a head injury assessment (HIA).
With Penrith down 24-8 and 23 minutes left to play, there were immediate fears Yeo - who went on to pass his concussion test - had played his last moment in the game.
"I remember the tackle. I remember hitting Hetherington, I got his shoulder on my head," the Panthers co-captain told AAP.
"I wasn't knocked out, I was just stunned. I came to, I passed the test, I was fine. I just felt helpless."
What did confuse Yeo was the uncertainty over what was happening on the field.
Deep in the bowels of Accor Stadium conducting his HIA, Yeo heard two mighty roars from the crowd.
With no televisions in sight and Penrith's doctors busy conducting cognitive tests, Yeo had no idea what the cheering signified.
Part of him feared the Broncos had continued their roll, scored two more tries and put the premiership beyond doubt.
"I was thinking 'we're in dire straits' for a second," Yeo admitted.
"I could hear it and I was just hoping the cheers were for us, not them.
"I didn't know until I ran out the tunnel.
"It was (the most nervous 10 minutes), because I couldn't help. You look at the scoreboard, and then you're off."
Those Accor Stadium roars were for Moses Leota's try and Nathan Cleary's momentum-shifting third-tackle 40-20.
And when Yeo walked down the tunnel he was greeted by the sight of the Panthers pouring forward and the score at 24-14.
Moments later, Stephen Crichton touched down to make it a four-point game, with Yeo returning to the field for Nathan Cleary's match-winning try.
"Thank God for Nat," Yeo said.
Australian Associated Press
