The Raiders hadn't been to the NRL judiciary in five years and after Corey Horsburgh lost his appeal on Tuesday night, the club's shattered chief executive Don Furner said it will likely be another five before they return.
On the drive up the Hume Highway, Canberra officials were confident Horsburgh would be cleared of a shoulder charge.
Then after veteran defence counsel Nick Ghabar finished his compelling closing argument, Furner was even more confident.
But the judiciary panel of Sean Hampstead and Bob Lindner took just 25 minutes to find Horsburgh guilty with a unanimous verdict - leaving those in attendance stunned.