Like a phoenix from the ashes, the Barraba Bulldogs rose from an 18-2 deficit with 22 minutes on the clock to score a thrilling two-point win over Kootingal Moonbi in the Group 4 Division Two major semi final.
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Up to scoring their first try, the Bulldogs had been their own worst enemy.
Whenever Barraba was in good field position, a mistake would put an end to any potential point-scoring.
However, that all ended in the final quarter of the match as right centre Beau White put on a masterclass.
He scored the first try for the Bulldogs before putting Mick Rutherford over in the corner five minutes later to see the score move to 18-10.
The Roosters struggled to get out of their own end and when Tim Coombes offloaded to fellow starting prop Jock Mallise who crossed next to the posts, it was a two-point ball game with 12 minutes on the clock.
The final blow came when White scored his second of the afternoon with seven minutes to go, fittingly right in front of the travelling Barraba crowd.
“It’s a big thing for Barraba [to host the grand final], the town’s got a lot of belief [in the team],” coach Jesse Phillips said.
“There’s 1500 people in Barraba and there was probably 300 to 400 here today to watch us play. We always have good support so it’s great to have it at home.”
Along with White, Phillips also gave a wrap to his other centre.
“Tom Mellor was brilliant, he showed a lot of passion,” Phillips said.
“He went from centre to five-eighth when our five-eighth Luke White got hurt and he just stood up. Beau was great. Whenever the ball got to Beau, he made good work of it.”
There was plenty of feeling in the opening exchanges.
Barraba’s decision to take two points on offer in the eighth minute reflected how hard points had been to come by.
It took 16 minutes for a try to be scored and it was five-eighth Jordan Sharpe who stepped up to the plate by effortlessly slicing through Barraba’s defence.
Prop Brodie Sowter was next to cross when he put his hand up for a shift into the centres as he broke through to score out wide on the back of a Barraba mistake.
With minutes on the clock, Barraba looked to hit back with a quick tap through Ryan Martin.
Martin was eventually brought down by Anthony Smith who was sin-binned for holding on too long – a decision that brought the ire of Kooty coach Paul Hyson.
However, it didn’t slow the Roosters down.
They held Barraba out in the first half before scoring the first points of the second stanza.
After Logan Howard was held up, Kooty shifted the ball to the right for Jesse Campbell to give his side an 18-2 lead.
After the good start, the final quarter of the match had Hyson scratching his head.
“We didn’t handle it well, that last 20 minutes,” Hyson said.
“I’m not sure what went wrong but [we] just have to go back to the drawing board and get ready for next week.”
MAJOR SEMI FINAL RESULTS
First grade
Barraba 20 (B White 2, M Rutherford, J Mallise tries; K Halloran 2 goals) d Kootingal Moonbi 18 (J Campbell, J Sharpe, B Sowter tries; R Martin 2 goals)
League tag
Uralla 14 (S Barraclough, B Doyle, S Doran tries; H Skewes goal) d Kootingal Moonbi 10 (K Horne, P McLoughlin tries; T Endemi goal)
