For Hawks’ Willie Heta, it was pure frustration.

For Blayney’s Will Ingram, it was unbridled joy.

Hawks held double-digit leads three times throughout the game, but every single time the winless, last-placed Bears clawed their way back into the game.

For the most part, they did it on the back of Hawks errors although they did look a far cry from the side that had been getting pummeled through the opening half of the season.

Hawks led 10-0 early, 20-6 late in the first half and then 30-18 late in the second, but couldn’t find a way to close the game out.

The Bears fought back to 30-30, but when Hawks fullback Jedd Kennedy scored in the 78^th minute – Heta converted – the game looked over.

It wasn’t, not by a long shot.

Swooping on a Hawks error, the Bears barged their way down field and Bailey Perkins dived over under the sticks with 10 seconds left on the clock.

Josh Rainbow duly slotted the extras, sparking raucous celebrations among the Bears players and fans.

“It’s closer to a win than a loss for us,” Ingram said.

“The boys showed a lot of ticker there. That was missing in the first five or six rounds but the last few weeks, especially against (Orange) CYMS and (Bathurst) St Pat’s it came.

“To put it together against Hawks, a side the whole Group rates title contenders, and get one point is a big confidence booster.

“I think that’ll be the stepping stone to bigger things for us.

“We’re running out of excuses,” Heta said, simply.

“It’s frustrating more than disappointing. The effort is there, but we’re just too patchy.

“We’ll find a lead and then manage to find a way to lose it. We need to get ourselves to a spot where we can put it together on the field.”

Hawks flew out of the gates, earning a 10-point lead after as minutes with tries to Kennedy and Sandon Gibbs-O’Neill.

The thrashing everyone expected looked likely.

But, through a piece of individual brilliance from hooker Raki Tuheke, the Bears cut the deficit to four.

He scooted, dummied then grubbered for himself, regathering and stretching out to score in the 14^th minute.

The Bears worked their way into the grind, looking the more likely of the two sides to score but then Heta came into the game, putting Tongia over.

He put Tongia into a gaping hole a couple of minutes later, the giant centre dishing to Jordan Baker for the easiest of winger’s tries.

With one Heta goal, Hawks led 20-6 and once again, the floodgates looked likely to open.

They didn’t, Blayney scored next through Marcus Burrell.

Kennedy pushed his luck in letting a grubber go dead and the Bears’ prop took his chance, planting it down with millimetres to spare, to slash the to eight at half-time.

It was all the Bears right after half-time too. Charlie Mortimer knocked on with the try-line in sight, before Tuheke was held up and then Michael Toohey forced a drop out.

The Bears took advantage from the restart, Ryan Oborn grabbing the first of two he scored for the afternoon.

At 20-18, the clash became an arm wrestle.

Hawks scored the next two tries, through Tongia and Daniel Qoranisi – who has linked with the club from Oberon.

Those four-pointers looked to have put the result to bed but once again, the Bears came back.

Mortimer went over and so did Oborn, from a lovely Toohey kick, to lock it up.

Entering field goal territory, Gibbs-O’Neill spied a chance down the short side and found Kennedy out the back, who cruised over for his second.

With less than two minutes left, even the most optimistic of Bears fans would’ve been doubting another comeback.

It came though, as Perkins dived over virtually as the full-time hooter went.