Cherrypickers captain-coach Luke Branighan was far from satisfied as Young and Wagga Brothers scrambled to a remarkable 40-all draw at Equex Centre on Sunday.
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Forced to sit on the sideline because of a calf muscle injury, Branighan was left livid as Young blew a 20-point lead late in the second half to finally only halve the result.
After a Round 11 bye Young ripped on three tries in the opening 18 minutes to stun Brothers.
By the time playmaker Tui Samoa dummied his way over the Cherrypickers were bolting at 16-nil in front and the Brothers seemed headed for a massive fall.
In a dramatic turnaround, however, Brothers scored three straight tries to get back to 22-20 down in the 49th minute.
What happened next should only be pure football fantasy.
As if inspired by the return of warhorse Nick Hall, Young scored successive tries in the 59th (Carl Planicka), 62nd (Neil Thorman) and 65th minutes (Samoa) to blast out to a 40-20 advantage again.
But just when it looked like Young would eventually romp home, Brothers produced what has been described as the most sensational comeback of the season.
In a miraculous recovery, the Brothers scored four tries in the last nine minutes, including Noa Fotu’s effort 13 seconds from the siren, to ultimately have a totally implausible victory resting on the boot of teenage centre Ed Ansell.
Lining up the conversion of Fotu’s try from the grandstand touchline, Ansel sprayed the kick wide to leave the teams at 40-apiece.
For Branighan, Ansell’s final failed conversion shot was definitely the only thing that saved his team from a classic blast.
Even the draw had Branighan fuming.
“I was thinking about third place (on the table), but the way we played we’d be lucky to make the finals,” Branighan said.
“That was disgraceful.”
Branighan had every right to be frustrated to the point of exasperation.
Up 16-nil in 18 minutes, Young should have had the game on toast.
Young’s best included Neil Thorman, Samoa, Jake Dawe and Matt Wakefield.
Full-time:
YOUNG 40 (T Samoa 2, J Smith, B Strickland, N Thorman, C Planicka, M Wakefield tries; M Murray 6 goals) drew with BROTHERS 40 (E Ansell 3, A Wynne 2, N Fotu, L Ryder, N Hay tries; E Ansell 4 goals) at Equex Centre.
Reserve Grade took a 24-14 win over Brothers, while league tag were defeated 30-nil.
The Under 18s also drew with Wagga, 36-all, and the Under 16s were defeated by 28-4.
