Despite a massively improved effort against a Parkes side which put 81 points on it eight days earlier, those handful of seconds led to CSU suffering a 20-14 loss in the minor semi-final.

Before that, it looked as if CSU could very well upset the defending premiers on their home turf.

With 10 minutes left on the clock and leading by a point, CSU spread the ball wide from a scrum deep inside their 22.

A misdirected pass saw the ball go to ground, and while centre Matt Allen dived on it and promoted the ball for his team-mates, they couldn't pick it up.

The ball was twice toed towards the dead ball line, but as it rolled in goal, Parkes centre Sororpepeli Soqe rushed thorough and dived on it.

He was awarded his second try of the match and while a desperate CSU worked to find a match winner in the time that remained, it didn't come.

"It could've gone anywhere couldn't it?," CSU coach Dave Conyers said of the ball as it tumbled towards the dead ball line.

"It just bloody bounced at the wrong time, it's a hard way to lose with a try like that. It really hurt."

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While that was the moment Parkes snatched victory, CSU certainly nullified the dangerous Boars back line well after they had run rampant a week earlier.

The students tackled in numbers, they were well organised in defence and often came up with a big play when their line was being pressured.

But conceding more than twice the amount of penalties that Parkes did hurt CSU, as did getting locked in their own half for lengthy periods.

"The defensive effort was the best I've seen for a couple of years, the boys really got down and tackled hard, they made up for last week," Conyers said.

"We just couldn't get any continuity, we go 80 minutes of rugby and we didn't get one five phase possession. That sort of sums up our ability to clear the ball and make ground.

"We got a bit clunky in the second half, we should've been playing down field and Parkes got three or four charge downs which didn't help us."

The first 20 minutes of the minor semi-final was dominated by Parkes, the Boars enjoying good territory thanks to a string of penalties which also saw a CSU player yellow carded.

While CSU worked hard in the rain and mud to repel phase after phase of attack, on 20 minutes their defensive line was breached by Soqe following a scrum.

That added to an earlier penalty goal from the boot of Jacob Hardie and saw Parkes out to a 10-0 lead.

CSU got on the board five minute later via a Jordy O'Shea penalty goal, then Parkes failed to send the resulting kick-off the required distance.

That put CSU back into attack mode.

Skipper Lachie Melville very nearly got over with a blindside dash following a line-out and while Parkes put him into touch, a minute later CSU found success.

A quick penalty tap from O'Shea caught the Boars napping, the scrumhalf then finding fullback Johnathon Lally in support and he crossed in the left corner to make it 10-8.

Each side added one more penalty goal to their tally in the seven minutes that remained, Parkes going to the break with a 13-11 lead.

It was a penalty goal that gave CSU the lead for the first time in the 56^th minute - Lally's work at the breakdown earning the shot - and the students then tried desperately to defend their 14-13 advantage.

Even after Parkes hit the front following the lapse from CSU in the 70^th minute, CSU's effort continued.

In the final three minutes CSU had a line-out five metres out, a penalty tap two metres out and twice pilfered Parkes ball, but it couldn't find the try it needed.

"At half-time everybody was just bouncing, we had the down hill run in the second half, so it would be place our kicks in the corners and chase hard," Conyers said.

"We had three or four good shots down on their line but we did something stupid like turn the ball over in the ruck one metre out a couple of times.

"So we had our chances, but we just didn't take it.

"We played well as a team, that was the main thing. We worked really hard on making double tackles and stopping their progress, that paid off, we just couldn't get the points down the other end."

Parkes will now meet Dubbo Rhinos in the preliminary final after they fell 31-9 to Mudgee in the first grand final qualifier.

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