So close, yet so far.
Athletic Marist almost pulled off an outrageous comeback against Kurow in the Citizens Shield playoff on Saturday.
Down by 15 with less than 10 minutes to play, Athies kicked into gear.
They ran in back-to-back tries to cut the lead to three and were making their way down the field in search of a third.
But a timely breakdown turnover for Kurow allowed the home side to boot the ball into touch and get the win 39-36.
Earlier, both sides traded penalties as Hateni Tafolo put Athies up 6-3.
Then the Red Devils got to work.
They camped in the 22 and kept Athies under the pump.
As their forwards kept getting around the corner carrying to the right, centre Hayden Todd had a big right foot step to find a hole in the sliding defence and score.
Ben Nowell kept the scoreboard ticking over with a second penalty before they were in again.
A kick was stabbed in behind and Sam Keno raced after it.
He looked certain to score but Laisa Bacau grabbed his jersey from behind, leaving the referee no choice but to award a penalty try and send Bacau to sin-bin.
Despite being down to 14, Athies scored through their captain Savenaca Rabaka and a penalty closed the gap to six.
But two tries either side of halftime gave Kurow a commanding lead.
Feeling the game slipping, Tafolo orchestrated a vintage Athies try from long range. Spying a gap, he stepped between two defenders and gassed a third.
Looking for options, he found Osea Qamasea on his right and the midfielder had the pace to go all the way.
Qamasea then completed the double to cut the lead to eight with 15 minutes to play.
A stolen lineout in the Athies 22 proved costly, as Todd was able to run in his second and put the game out of reach.
Lock Laine Hickey was everywhere for the Red Devils in an impressive display.
Kurow’s set piece was rock solid and gave their exciting backs a good platform to launch off.
In Weston, Excelsior pulled off an upset to beat competition front-runner Valley 26-22.
It was a game where momentum swung drastically each way.
Blues started with a hiss and roar to lead 19-8 at halftime.
The home side then rolled their sleeves up and ran in two tries of their own in the second half to snatch the lead back.
When barnstorming No 8 Samu Babiau scored his second try of the game and Josh Phipps added the extras, it was enough to get Blues home.
They now have the week off ahead of the final, while Valley get a second life and host Kurow for a spot in the final.
