Down 22-14 with six minutes on the clock, the Western Rams would have been forgiven for thinking their dream of a country championships decider under lights at WIN Stadium had all but evaporated.
And with one minute to go they were still behind and without the ball.
But somehow the Rams scrambled to victory against the Bidgee Bulls at West Wyalong’s Ron Crowe Oval thanks to a try to Dubbo’s Brodie Chapman and will now tackle Oxley Pioneers (Groups 2, 3 and 4) this Friday night.
Containing Cowra’s Chris Wilson, Josh Newling, Rory Brien and Hayden Hodge, the Rams scored with only seconds left on the clock after forcing a Bulls mistake in their own half.
It could have been so much easier for the Greg Edwards-coached side after they led 14-6 at half-time after running into the teeth of a strong breeze.
But the Bulls rallied, with the help of some poor handling from the Rams, and surged to a seemingly match-winning buffer with only minutes remaining.
“We just did some really dumb things and didn’t hold the thing,” Edwards said of his side’s second-half performance.
“We played great footy in the first half into the win, and in the second half when we had it we didn’t use it. But we showed desperation when it mattered and probably a little bit of luck.”
The squad, which has Cowra’s Peter McDonald as manager, will play before the annual City-Country fixture.
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