Round 13 of Super Rugby Pacific produced four quality contests, highlighted by the Reds-Chiefs thriller on Friday night.
That game was won by the Kiwis, who were joined as victors over the weekend by the Crusaders, Highlanders, Hurricanes and Brumbies.
Read on as we review some of the key talking points from the weekend.
SANZAAR GOT THE REFEREE APPOINTMENT WRONG IN BRISBANE
The best games need the best referees. It is that simple. Unfortunately on Friday night in Brisbane, the key Reds-Chiefs clash did not have one of the competition's top whistle-blowers appointed, and the game suffered as a result.
The Kiwis eventually triumphed 31-21 in a thrilling 80-minute contest that had multiple switches in momentum, but one that left the parochial home fans fuming over the performance of referee Marcus Playle, who blew a 12-5 penalty count against the home side.
Now, this is not to say that some of those penalties weren't justified. But what irked the Suncorp Stadium faithful were Chiefs cleanouts well past the ruck, knock-ons that weren't called, and several tough breakdown decisions, particularly the evening's final penalty that fell the way of the visitors despite Chiefs skipper Luke Jacobson clearly going off his feet beforehand.
Let's be clear, Playle's integrity is not in question here. And the game has a responsibility to bring through its emerging referees, just as the teams themselves need to plan for the seasons ahead.
But a game of this nature required one of the competition's top referees, be it Ben O'Keeffe, Angus Gardner or Paul Williams, whistle-blowers who have big-match Test experience who are able to handle the pressure and intensity of such a contest.
What really did Playle in, however, was experienced Television Match Official Glenn Newman, who only briefly examined a potential try to Seru Uru on the stroke of halftime. After just a couple of quick glances at one angle, Newman ruled there was insufficient evidence to overturn Playle's on-field decision of no try.
But as the players headed off for the sheds, another angle was shown on the Stan Sport broadcast which at the very least warranted further investigation, with Uru clearly shown to have grounded the ball. With the help of the assistant referees, it may well have been deemed that the Reds lock had in fact scored a try.
While there was another 40 minutes of rugby to be played, if the try had been awarded the Reds would have held at least a two-, and potentially four-point halftime lead.
"They only looked at one angle?" an unaware Reds coach Les Kiss said of the single angle the TMO had reviewed. "Fair dinkum. Wow. I wasn't aware of that.
"I didn't see it because we were going down in the lift. But surely they went through every angle, no? It doesn't matter now, does it?"
CALLS ASIDE, REDS WILL REVIEW MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
While the Reds' blood may have boiled over for much of the weekend, when they sit down for Monday's review they will recognise four key scoring opportunities where better execution, urgency or a touch more patience could have brought about a different result.
Queensland played some sparkling attacking footy - which was seen in tries to Joe Brial and Treyvon Pritchard, the direct result of supreme passes from Harry Wilson and Carter Gordon respectively - but otherwise will see offloads from Zane Nonggorr and Wilson once more, and a poor cleanout on Tupou Vaa'i that resulted in a turnover, a Reds scrum, and a Chiefs penalty.
Wilson and Nonggorr will have immediately realised they should have consolidated possession, while had the cleanout that arrived a fraction too late for Uru's charge-down and regather - though Vai'i's pilfer was one of those calls that could have gone either way - have been a split-second earlier, the Reds would have surely scored in the ensuing phases.
Uru's non-try on halftime, meanwhile, could have also garnered a clear try with a few more phases of pressure on the Chiefs line.
"It's a tough one. I think, regardless in those positions, I think us as players, can take a bit of ownership of that and understand some of the circumstances," a diplomatic Reds skipper Fraser McReight added of the Uru non-try.
"Take it out of the ref's hands, let's score it. Obviously he's saying that he's getting it down; but it's another way to look at it, just take it away [from the ref].
Ultimately, it almost feels as though that has been the story of the Reds in the Kiss era, with Queensland likely heading for a third straight away quarterfinal. They have been very close to the competition's elite - and have beaten them on occasion -- but lack the absolute polish to do it on a consistent basis.
IF SCHMIDT GOES WITH GORDON, THEN LONERGAN MUST START
Another week, another performance to consider from a Wallabies fly-half candidate, this time Carter Gordon. The former Gold Coast Titan replaced the impressive Harry McLaughlin-Phillips, Gordon marking his first game from injury with two sublime try-assists, a further linebreak and genuinely sharp attack. He also landed one huge hit in defence to underline his defensive prowess.
But the same-old issue remains, Gordon is not goal-kicking, with replacement Louis Werchon assuming the responsibility when McLaughlin-Phillips departed.
It's a conundrum that must be keeping outgoing Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt up at night, although one he may be able to confront with a shift of thinking at halfback.
Waratahs No. 9 Jake Gordon has been Schmidt's man at scrum-half for all but a handful of games during the Kiwi's Wallabies tenure, and Gordon will be a part of his wider squad once more come July.
But if Carter Gordon is to wear the No. 10 jersey first up against Ireland, then Brumbies halfback Ryan Lonergan will surely have to play inside him. And that won't be a decision made on goal-kicking alone, with Lonergan turning in another elite performance in his side's win over the Force in Canberra.
While his goal-kicking would offset Gordon's lack thereof, the width and speed of Lonergan's pass would only further free up time and space for Gordon, who throws the meanest spiral in Australian rugby full-stop.
There is a concern that a Lonergan-Gordon partnership has not played together, but that just reinforces the urgency of the situation for the World Cup.
BLUES LOOKING VULNERABLE
The Hurricanes and Chiefs will fight out top spot and No. 1 seeding for the playoffs, but the battle for third is very much on with the Blues suddenly in a real scramble.
Vern Cotter's side slipped to a 16-point defeat away to the Crusaders on Friday, which reduced the gap between the two sides to just six points on the ladder. Both sides have a bye in the final three rounds, with the Crusaders sitting out this week before home games against the Chiefs and Hurricanes, while the Blues have a bye sandwiched between games at home to the Hurricanes and away to the Chiefs.
While home advantage will be vital for the Crusaders, facing the two clear best teams in the competition in back-to-back weeks will be a mighty challenge. The Blues meanwhile aren't playing well enough to suggest they can beat either side.
Regardless, those four games are must-watch over the next three weeks.