A late stroke of brilliance by Peter Little sunk his former club as Junee mounted a dramatic comeback to defeat Southcity and set up a major semi-final clash with Gundagai on Sunday.
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Little put Clifford Morris out the line to score the match-winning try with just over a minute left to earn a 24-22 victory.
The Diesels were only behind for seven minutes in the clash at Laurie Daley Oval but it looked as though they would be fighting for their season after Steven Kemp’s aerobatic try put the Bulls in front for the first time with eight minutes to play.
Kemp lept above Hayden Diggins to plant ball down to hand to have the Bulls a 22-20 lead however the Diesels weren’t to be denied and charged back down field.
Junee picked up a penalty and then earned two repeat sets before makeshift five-eighth Little put Morris over the line in what was the last play of the day.
Junee captain-coach Matt Hands was forced to the sidelines late in the clash but was impressed with the fight showed by his team.
“We spoke about a 80 minute game of footy and that’s exactly what it took,” Hands said.
“I couldn’t be happier with two cracks at the grand final – that has what we’ve been aiming for and played all year for.”
Southcity had the best of the early going but a fortuitous bounce saw Junee score first as Hands’ bomb bounced awkwardly for Jade Hodge and Jeremy Hampton scooped up the loose ball to score after 15 minutes.
The Diesels then pounced on a Kieran Schauf error as Morris put Daniel Foley over for a try with a brilliant flick pass before Kyle McCarthy put Southcity on the board in the 26th minute.
With three minutes left in the half Hands extended the Diesels lead with a penalty goal before the Bulls hit back right on the brink of half-time.
Two brave calls paid dividends as the Bulls turned down two penalty goal opportunities, one after the siren, before Nathan Rose crossed for a dramatic try to bring to score to 14-12.
Former Bull Tristan Dickson extended Junee’s lead when he snuck into the corner four minutes after the break and before Jack Lyons’ try got the Bulls back within two points with 16 minutes to play.
The Bulls continued to attack before Kemp found his way over the line but the comeback wasn't to be and they will now tackle Young in the minor semi-final at Harris Park on Saturday.
Full-time
JUNEE 24 (D Foley, J Hampton, T Dickson, C Morris tries; M Hands 4 goals) d SOUTHCITY 22 (J Lyons, S Kemp, K McCarthy, N Rose tries K McCarthy 3 goals)