It had all the makings of a classic, and the Tribal League's opening round match-up between the Wiradjuri Googars and Wellington Castlereagh All Blacks on Saturday certainly delivered.
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It took a golden-point try for the Googars to down the Wellington Castlereagh All Blacks 22-18 in the new competition at Dubbo.
Given they missed out on the Group 10 season with the Bathurst Panthers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the win was a good moment for Googars coach Jeremy Gordon and manager Ben Gunn.
St Pat's talent Traie Merritt, who came off the bench, was also a member of the victorious Googars side while Bathurst product turned Cronulla Sharks fullback Will Kennedy lined up for the All Blacks.
From the opening whistle, both talent-stacked sides pressed the action, with Wellington marching down-field thanks to a penalty.
A conversion by Bailey Hartwig pushed the score to 6-0 early in the first stanza, but it wasn't long before Claude Gordon created enough momentum to burst through three Wellington defenders and crash over the line for another four.
Another Hartwig kick that sailed through the uprights added on another two, with the Googars taking a 12-0 lead into the back 10 minutes of the first half.
A shifting off-load from returned Wellington Cowboys captain Justin Toomey-White set up an opportunity for Corey Cox to get the ball into the hands of Cronulla Sharks young-gun Braydon Trindall, who put the first points on the board for Wellington before half-time.
Trindall's boot added the extras, with the first half ending with Wellington returning the favour and putting the pressure onto the Googars.
Despite his side falling short, Toomey-White said his side would take a lot of confidence away from their performance throughout the gruelling, back and forth battle.
"It was a good performance, the first game you play's always the hardest game and we knew they were going to be a really tough side," Toomey-White said.
"Both teams are from this region, so we've trained against each other before and we knew how well they could play, they definitely came out firing and we started slow, but we'll take some positives out of that second half."
While the momentum swung back and forth early in the second half, Brian Kelly was again the earliest impact, securing a one-on-one strip right after a changeover to fire Jayden Campbell down the length of the field and put up six more points for the Googars.
Wellington product Tyrone Peachey nearly struck again and ended the game soon after, slotting a grubber and recollecting it only to be held up inches above the try-line.
While the Wellington side had their backs to the try-lines, possession fell their way and an outstanding effort form lightning quick Will Lousick saw him travel the length of the field, beating both Peachey and Kelly and getting the All Blacks back into the game.
Another conversion from Trindall closed the gap to 18 - 12 with seven minutes to go.
With the pressure back on, Wellington Castlereagh were able to spark another bit of magic near the try-line with three minutes to go, with Regan Carr slicing through with a grubber and pouncing on it to bring the scores level.
Claude Gordon left satisfied with his sides performance in a match that was all action and effort, but admitted that they'd 'shot themselves in the foot' in the second half.
"We made it a lot closer than we should have but we came home with the result at the end and it's all onto the next few games now," Gordon said.
The pressure, and elation, of playing for his family and tribe's team added an extra sweetener to the eventual victory.
"It's always special playing for the Wiradjuri Googars, it's my team and it's my father's team, it means a lot more than just rugby league, it's about family today, I'm representing everyone in my family and it's not just about me, it's about my children and everyone else I call family," Gordon said.
While Mark Merritt and Wyndham Peachey both earned Gordon's praise for their effort during the game, Brian Kelly was the first singled out by the veteran for his performance under pressure.
"He did a lot of the tough carries, he was unreal for us today, and he's as strong as an ox, I'd hate to be tackling him, I'll tell you that," Gordon said.
An after the siren penalty kick sailed past the posts and denied the Googars an immediate victory, but it wasn't long into a frenzied and fast paced golden point period before Gold Coast winger Treymain Spry found his timing around the flanks and planted the final try of the game to send the Googars out 22 - 18 victors.
While that win was one the Googars enjoyed, they went down 30-10 to Coastal Connections later in the afternoon.
For Wellington, their second game also came down to golden point, but this time they were the victors as they downed Redfern 13-12.
WIRADJURI GOOGARS 22 (Brian Kelly, Claude Gordon, Jayden Campbell Treymain Spry tries, Bailey Hartwig 3 goals) defeated WELLINGTON CASTLEREAGH ALL BLACKS 18 (Braydon Trindall, Will Lousick, Regan Carr tries, Braydon Trindall 3 goals)
