Four tries in the final 12 minutes sealed an incredible 34-26 come from behind victory for the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles over S George Illawarra Dragons today in Round 10 of the NSW Cup.
After conceding two early second half tries and finding themselves down 26-8, the Sea Eagles scored 26 unanswered points with tries from Fletcher Myers, Kaeo Weekes and Jackson Ferris, as well as a double from Clayton Faulalo to help claim the two competition points at HE Laybutt Field.
The victory moves Blacktown to 10 points to be level with the Penrith Panthers.
The match marked the return to Blacktown of former Manly players Alec Tuitavake and Viliami Fifita. The two played 18 games between them for Blacktown over the past two seasons.
A sloppy kick from five-eighth Dean Matterson on the last tackle of the opening set almost led to an early try for the home side. Halfback Jamie Humphreys chased and got hands on the ball off an awkward bounce before dropping it 25 metres out from the tryline.
A handful of repeat sets in Blacktown’s territory led to a try for Dragons hooker Jacob Liddle in the fourth minute after he crashed past a defender to score under the posts. Winger Alexander Lobb converted from in front for a 6-0 lead.
St George Illawarra had their backs against the wall after being caught down the short side and had to tip the ball out at the ten-metre line as Sea Eagles centre Jackson Ferris was denied a certain try.
Lobb scored the Dragons’ second try in the 16th minute after a good shift in play sent him over untouched in the corner, taking the score to 10-0.
After another forced drop-out and a penalty deep in their opposition's territory, Blacktown had their first points with a try through Matterson in the 23rd minute. The five-eighth threw a short ball to Zac Fulton at the line and he made it through the defence, taking two defenders with him before passing back to Matterson 10 metres out from the line. Matterson blitzed the fullback and another chasing defender to score for a 10-4 scoreline.
The away side hit back five minutes later as winger Sione Finau latched onto a wayward ball from Blacktown before sprinting 35 metres to score. Lobb converted to extend the lead out to 16-4.
The Dragons failed to find the sideline with a kick to touch and the Sea Eagles made them pay with a try from Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega in the 34th minute. Fainu ran hard down the shortside and offloaded to his winger, who spun out of a tackle and beat two defenders to score, taking the scoreline to 16-8.
Blacktown were lucky not to be down further at halftime, with the referee awarding a penalty to them as the Dragons appeared to have scored next to the posts. The home side trailed by eight points as the siren sounded for the break.
The away side continued their momentum and scored on the right edge through Zach Herring in the 45th minute after a strong run from second-rower Dylan Egan to set it up, extending their lead to 20-8.
The Dragons had another six minutes later through fullback Treigh Stewart after he supported the play following a tackle break moments earlier. Lobb converted from in front to take the score out to 26-8.
The Sea Eagles scored in the 57th minute with a try from Faulalo in the right corner. Fullback Kaeo Weekes broke out of a tackle and looked around for options before poking a low-angled kick to the corner post. The ball bounced and sat up perfectly for Faulalo to dive and ground the ball before falling over the sideline, bringing the score to 26-12.
Faulalo was inches away from his second try four minutes later after another kick from Matterson was allowed to bounce. Dragons fullback Stewart allowed the looping ball to bounce and it flew towards Faulalo, who jumped and caught the ball before being tackled by a defender just out of reach of the tryline.
In emphatic fashion, Blacktown found the tryline through Myers with just over 10 minutes of play remaining. Faulalo was integral to the try happening, with the winger snatching an impressive intercept at his own 10 metre line before racing 80 metres downfield only to be dragged down. Humphreys ended up with the ball and after a step back infield, he threw a looping cut-out pass to Myers who went over untouched. Humphreys converted for a 26-18 scoreline to the Dragons.
The momentum was shifting back in favour of the home side as Faulalo scored his second try four minutes later following a well-timed pass from Ferris. The try brought the side back within touching distance, only needing a try to level the scores with six minutes remaining.
The Sea Eagles were playing thrilling football with their third try in the space of eight minutes, with Weekes finding his name on the scoresheet.
Forward Ben Condon forced his way through the defence in the middle of the field with a barnstorming run, freeing his hands for a smart offload to Weekes. The fullback changed his line and hit third gear to get ahead of the fullback before wrestling away to ground the ball. Humphreys converted to give Blacktown the lead for the first time in the match at 28-26.
Blacktown were finding their groove late in the match and scored once again for their fourth try in ten minutes through Ferris. Humphreys put a scrappy bomb kick up on the last tackle and the Dragons player thought they had it covered, only for Ferris to come flying through.
Ferris snatched the ball out of the opposing player's grasp and raced away to score, sealing the victory for his side. Humphreys converted from in front for the final scoreline of 34-26.
Blacktown take on the Newtown Jets in the second of three matches on Sunday May 14, at 1.35pm, in Round 11 of the NSW Cup at 4 Pines Park.
