The Western Suburbs Magpies have fought back from a three-try deficit early in the second half to record an incredible 22-all draw against the St George Illawarra Dragons at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on Sunday.
The Dragons looked well in control for a majority of the contest as they raced out to a comfortable 22-4 lead, but two tries to Bilal Maarbani and another to Watson Heleta in the dying stages ensured an enthralling finish.
The Magpies can take a wealth of confidence from their character-defining performance in the second 40 to record their second draw in two weeks against worthy opposition in the Dragons.
Both teams took their time to work their way into the contest with limited chances throughout the opening exchanges but the Dragons eventually found a breakthrough with two tries in quick succession.
Josh Kerr broke the deadlock in the 18th minute with a powerful surge from close-range before Pio Sokobalavu capitalised on a Tyson Gamble error off the kick-off with a carbon-copy effort just two minutes later.
Adam Clune continued to control the game nicely with a pinpoint kicking game to help the Dragons win the battle of field position although momentum quickly shifted when Matt Dufty threw an intercept pass to Kane Bradley who streaked 60m to score in the left-hand corner.
The Magpies threatened for back-to-back tries late in the first-half when Jayden Morgan was sent to the sin-bin for repeated infringements, but the defiant Dragons defence held strong and they took a 12-4 advantage into half-time.
The Dragons continued with their relentless attacking raids to start the second half and they quickly found themselves with a 22-4 lead after back-to-back tries in the opening 10 minutes.
Steven Marsters was the first beneficiary when he latched onto a towering Tristan Sailor bomb in the 42nd minute before a floating Clune cut-out pass found an unmarked Jason Gillard in the left-hand corner just moments later.
Although sitting comfortably with a handy three-try lead with still 30 minutes remaining, the Magpies had a glimmer of hope when Marbaani crashed over in the 55th minute.
Marsters broke the game wide open when he burst through the line with a lethal right foot step, before kicking ahead for a flying Dufty only for the livewire to fumble the ball in his efforts to scoop up the loose ball.
They were made to rue the missed opportunity when the Magpies responded with a classy backline movement to send Maarbani over for his second try with Kauri Aupouri-Puketapu converting from out-wide to reduce the deficit to a mere six points.
A missed field-goal attempt from Tristan Sailor gave the Magpies a valuable seven-tackle set with just five minutes remaining, and pressure quickly mounted when they forced a line drop-out at the opposing end.
They eventually reaped the rewards when Heleta crashed over with just two minutes remaining to incredibly grab a share of the competition points.
Tries
- Kane Bradley 28'
- Bilal Maarbani 55'
- Bilal Maarbani 68'
- Watson Heleta 76'
