WHEN CSU captain Finlay Grabham lined up a penalty shot in the dying seconds of Saturday's Woodbridge Cup match that could force a draw with Condobolin, he was was a nervous man.
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The talented second rower felt he was not having the best day with the boot and admits he's not the most confident of kickers.
But as the siren sounded at Diggings Oval, Grabham's attempt sailed between the posts to hand his side a 22-all draw.
It was a result that had looked extremely unlikely earlier in the second half as the Mungoes had trailed the Rams 22-8.
"I don't remember much about it, I just remember the penalty going then I asked the ref how long we had left and he said 15 seconds, so I knew I'd have to kick it," Grabham said.
"I think it was maybe 15 metres in from the sideline, maybe 10, so it wasn't the easiest kick at all and I wasn't that great on the boot that day either to be honest, I missed two from the sideline earlier so I was feeling the pressure.
"I was lucky enough to get that one, which was important.
"When it came off the boot I was pretty confident it was going to go in. I'm just very happy I got it in for my team-mates."
While Grabham's kick was part of an impressive late fight back from the Mungoes, the skipper lamented the fact his side took so long to settle into the contest.
Early on Condobolin had dominated, particularly around the ruck thanks to Woodbridge Cup representative hooker Tyrone Johnstone.
"We didn't play our best game during the day. We could've played better so it was a bit upsetting not to lead the boys to win," Grabham said.
"We had no line speed and they were just getting over the top of us with quick play-the-balls, they kept getting metres and we couldn't do anything about it.
"I think they're a good team, you would definitely not want to underestimate them at all. Their hooker Tyrone Johnstone, who I played in the representative team with, he's a great player, and they've got some good forwards.
"But at the end, the last 10 minutes or so, we just got into gear, clicked as a side and we scored a few good tries pretty quickly and that brought us into the game. Then we got that penalty."
The sort of football that the Mungoes produced in the closing stages against the Rams is what Grabham hopes to see more of this season.
CSU currently sits fifth on the ladder with two wins, a draw and a loss, but Grabham feels his side has the talent to challenge the Woodbridge heavyweights.
"We don't want to be known as that young team that's just there, we want to be right up there at the end," he said.
"I think we've got one of the best sides in the comp, we've just got to put things together. We've got so many good players, like our team is full of them, but we're just not putting it together as a whole team at the moment, once we do I think we'll go alright."
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