IT wasn't the hardest attempt he's lined up in his time with the Mungoes, but when CSU captain-coach Callum Flanagan readied himself for a penalty goal attempt at Diggings Oval on Saturday afternoon he was certainly nervous.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
With three minutes on the clock left and CSU locked at 6-all with Oberon in their Mid West League pre-season carnival clash, Flanagan knew he needed to raise the flags. That he did.
"Yeah, I was nervous," he said after the 8-6 win.
"If we lost that game then we knew we'd be out and Oberon would play Portland in the final, so to get that in, yeah that sealed it."
Not only did Flanagan's conversion seal an 8-6 win for his side, given the Mungoes would have gone on to play Oberon again in the decider the CSU skipper and Tigers counterpart Dallas Booth decided to end it there.
It meant CSU was crowned the winner of the pre-season carnival.
The Mungoes had opened their campaign with an 6-all draw against the returning Portland Colts.
CSU went on to beat Lithgow Bears (22-0), but as Oberon had posted wins over the Bears (16-6) and Portland (20-8) while the Colts had downed Lithgow (30-4), it meant the Mungoes needed to win against the Tigers.
The Tigers were the outfit which denied CSU on grand final day of the Mid West League Cup last year and in Saturday's decider they struck the first blow.
In the sixth minute Oberon second rower Jacob Howes dragged four defenders over the line with him in a show of strength and determination. Jake Foley converted to make it 6-0.
But from the kick-off the ball took a tricky bounce and went into touch to put CSU on the attack. Lachie Balcombe got held up over the line, but two tackles later Flanagan scooted out from dummy half and found a gap in Oberon's defence.
He converted his try to lock it up at 6-all at the break.
Caylib Marston threatened to put the Tigers back in front early in the second half as firstly he sliced through CSU's defence before being halted by a covering tackle, then was held up over the line.
With eight minutes left the students had a chance go begging as well as Ray Sargent knocked on when trying to dive over from dummy half.
But after Oberon had conceded back-to-back penalties, the second of which was in range for Flanagan, the winning moment came. CSU's skipper slotted the goal to give his side an 8-6 victory.
Flanagan was delighted with how his men - many of whom played out of their regular position - gelled over the course of the day.
"At the start we could see the rustiness, we didn't really know where we were, we weren't gelling," he said.
"But in that Oberon game, our back line and our forwards started working together and we could see what this team is going to be like coming into 2021.
"So it was great signs for me. We won that with our half out - Lachie Wilson - and Adam Booth was out, so we had some big names out."
While the CSU skipper hopes Saturday was an indication of what is to come in 2021 and expects both his side and the Tigers to be title contenders once more, he acknowledged no side was at full strength for the pre-season carnival.
"It's got to be noted that Oberon were short staffed, they only had about 14 boys here. We were a shell of the side we normally are as well though, so whilst it's a reflection of what could come, it can't be taken too seriously," he said.
"For both of us that was out third game so we were all aching and while it's great indication of how close the competition could be, we can't take for granted that's what's going to happen."
CSU 8 (Callum Flanagan try; Callum Flanagan 2 goals) defeated OBERON 6 (Jacob Howes try; Jake Foley goal)
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.westernadvocate.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News