Cover Photo: Kate Johnson

Tallon Smith

The final round battle for fifth place was always destined to go down to the wire, but few could have predicted how narrow the margin would be following Southcity’s 48-4 victory over Cootamundra at Harris Park on Sunday.

Chasing a 41-point for-and-against deficit, the Bulls only reached the target and jumped Wagga Kangaroos into the top five on the final play of the match, with Nathan Rose scoring his fourth try of the day on the bell to cap a remarkable finish where he and Mat Lyons combined for six tries in 23 minutes.

Southcity coach Luke McBeath said it was a great feeling to steal a finals berth late in the season after an up and down campaign affected by injuries to several key players.

“The back end of the year things weren’t going our way, and it had to come down to the last game there, but I had full belief in our squad that if we did get the chance, we could do it, and I think we showed that yesterday,” he said.

“Hopefully now we can continue that into finals, I think the boys in the club are pretty excited about the fact that we are back in finals, so hopefully we can make the most of it and stay in there until the end.”

The Bulls started the round with a differential of zero, 16 behind the Kangaroos, before the latter’s 24-point victory on Saturday increased the gap to 40.

Despite the frantic scenes that would follow, Southcity began the chase slowly, scoring only twice in the first half through Rose and Jesse Fitzhenry to open up a 12-0 lead at the break.

In his return from five weeks out with an elbow injury, Kyle McCarthy went over from dummy half for the side’s third early in the second stanza, followed by Rose’s second 58 minute mark, before winger Harry Boxsell hit back to get the Bulldogs on the board at 24-4.

However, despite the scoreboard pressure, the Bulls kicked into gear from that point, with Lyons and Rose each scoring three tries in the final quarter of the match to reach the seemingly impossible target.

The final play itself will live long in the memories of the Southcity faithful, with Rose grubbering for Lyons, who flung a desperate pass back inside as he was being tackled towards the sideline, only to find the man who kicked the ball trailing in support and collecting the ball to book a place in the finals.

While he admitted there were both nerves during and disbelief following the crazy finish, McBeath said he knew the side’s strike players were capable of scoring points quickly if a strong platform was laid.

“There definitely [were] some nerves, it was a bit of a funny feeling for myself to be honest, even when the siren rang it was kind of like, ‘did that really just happen?’,” he said.

“We’re lucky in the sense of the strike that we do have, and I think it’s just one of those things that if we were to complete and the middle could lay a platform for them, then [those] guys can do anything in a short amount of time and they showed that.

“I think even in the dying minutes we bombed three tries as well, and still managed to get one right on the siren there to get the points difference, so it was nice.”

Having already completed a near-impossible task to make the five, the next challenge awaiting the Bulls is an elimination final at Young on Saturday, against a side they are yet to beat this season in the Cherrypickers.

However, with the side nearly back at full fitness after the return of McCarthy, Rose and Lyons, and with Cody Hodge a chance to return after missing the weekend’s fixture, McBeath said he is confident the Bulls can go deep into the postseason.

“I am confident in what we can do, I think for us it was a matter of just getting there, and if we were to get there, I think anything is possible,” he said.

“It’s been nice, we’re nearly back to a full-strength side now, which we haven’t had all year.

“We have probably got a couple of weeks under our belt now with our full-strength side, so hopefully we can build that confidence.

“Young, it’s going to be a tough contest, and especially over there, but I’ve got full belief that if we just play our best footy, then anything can happen.”

Meanwhile, the loss ends Cootamundra’s season, with the Bulldogs finishing in seventh position after recording seven wins, four more than last season.

In a boost for the club, coach Luke Berkrey has re-committed for season 2027, along with representative players Nikola Sovatabua and Tai Va’avale.

SOUTHCITY 48 (Nathan Rose 4, Mat Lyons 3, Jesse Fitzhenry, Kyle McCarthy tries; Josh Siegwalt 6 goals) DEFEATED COOTAMUNDRA 4 (Harry Boxsell try) at Harris Park, Sunday August 23.