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ACT Brumbies hooker Stephen Moore remarkably escaped any penalty for a blatant punch which incited 30,004 Reds fans to yell for justice.
Boos for referee Steve Walsh reverberated around Suncorp Stadium at full-time when the gallant Reds fell short 23-20, having seemingly been down and out at 20-3.
The Reds had pulled themselves out a first half stupor to roar onto attack on the Brumbies tryline early in the second half with their season on the line at 23-10 behind.
Red-haired flanker Ed Quirk had set himself on the side of the Reds ruck and did clearly grab a piece of Moore's jersey.
Moore's indignation at being held back in such a moment of desperation ignited into a left hook which sent Quirk flying. The crowd erupted and the mood was only amplified with every big screen replay sought by experienced Test referee Walsh.
Reds halfback Will Genia had dotted down in the pivotal moment but the least expected outcome unfolded for all.
Walsh told his touch judges it was a "clear try" but dialled it down to a penalty on the other side of the field because he couldn't allow it through Quirk's jersey grab and Moore "taking the law into his own hands."
Brumbies hooker Stephen Moore "taking the law into his own hands". Source: FoxSports
Graham chose his words carefully when dissecting a moment which may have swung the match and the course of his team's season.
Graham said he believed Moore was part of the ruck when Quirk grabbed his jersey and therefore was entitled to do so.
"I felt he was entitled to hold him and I think the try should have been awarded (to Will Genia)," Graham said of the controversial incident in the 49th minute.
He bit his lip when not commenting on whether Moore should have stayed on the field or been hit with a yellow or red card for a left hook than Anthony Mundine would have liked in his armoury midweek.
The incident was being reviewed late on Friday night by a SANZAR citing commissioner.
The incendiary moment did have the effect of shaking the Reds out of their worst first half of rugby for five years, one in which the Brumbies commanded 71 per cent of possession and made five times the running metres of the stagnant, error-prone and over-kicking Reds.
Reds star Quade Cooper is tackled by Brumbies flyhalf Nic White. Source: News Corp Australia
What followed was astonishing. The Reds scrum had been under early pressure but put on a huge shunt on a Brumbies put-in at the 62-minute mark.
The Brumbies scrum, with fresh brothers Ruan and JP Smith as props, buckled into a heap as Reds front-rowers James Slipper, replacement Jono Owen and Saia Faingaa asserted dominance. Quirk jubilantly fell on the ball for a pushover try.
Quirk had a monster game after being put on notice this week that more running was expected off him. Aggression dripped from everything he did. Moore was excellent as well. The fired-up contest was riveting for the final 40 minutes.
For the Brumbies no one was better than Wallaby winger Joe Tomane, who finished off an excellent Brumbies try late in the first half and made a big ball-strip on Quade Cooper to save a try midway through the second half.
For all the fight and heart to the second half, Reds skipper James Horwill painfully admitted that one stout half was not good enough.
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The hurt in Horwill's eyes was obvious. He realises that a string of close losses has made the play-offs a distant hope.
The extraordinary sight of the Reds scoring a tighthead pushover try to rally against the Brumbies is one rarely seen in top rugby.
"The forwards went out there with a bit of a chip on the shoulders. I feel we front up every week and get very little credit, especially the guys up front (the front-rowers)," he said.
"To score a tighthead pushover try against a scrum which has earned two penalty tries recently is something you just don't see."
Hooker Faingaa, in his 100th Super Rugby game, and prop Slipper splintered the Brumbies front-row into ruin in that mighty scrum.
The momentum that the Reds rode in the second half was a huge contrast to the first 40 minutes.
"The Brumbies are very good at squeezing teams. We gave them some soft possession and were poor in some little things and it hurt us in that first half when we just didn't hold onto any ball."
The loss dumped the Reds to their worst start (3-5) since the 2009 season and more bricks were knocked from Fortress Suncorp because they have now suffered back-to-back losses at home for the first time since that same year.
Quade Cooper is denied a try by a brilliant Joe Tomane tackle. Source: Getty Images
The Reds (16 points) now sit nine points behind the Brumbies on the table and making the play-offs would require a mini-miracle
How easily the Brumbies outflanked the flawed Reds defence out wide in the first half and the lack of line-piercing factors for the home side will be problems for the Reds coaching staff to stew over on their bye week.
Errors killed the Reds too. A strong Pat McCabe-Robbie Coleman tackle jolted the ball free from Cooper in the opening 10 minutes to gift forward Scott Fardy a try and a lead that was never relinquished.
Full credit to the Brumbies. They were gutsy and clinical when it mattered.
BRUMBIES 23 (Scott Fardy, Joe Tomane tries Nic White 2 cons 3 pens) bt QUEENSLAND REDS 20 (Ed Quirk, Beau Robinson tries Quade Cooper 2 cons 2 pens) at Suncorp Stadium. Referee: Steve R. Walsh. Crowd: 30,004.
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