The equation for the Warriors was simple: beat the Bears to earn an Intrust Super Premiership NSW finals berth. The task though, not so easy.
Heading into the competition's last month, North Sydney had strung together back-to-back wins in weeks following a Round 19 Bye to remain in the finals hunt, despite their 11th-placed reading on the ISP ladder heading into their Round 24 clash.
But having suffered consecutive losses at the hands of Wentworthville and Canterbury-Bankstown, North Sydney's fate rested in many hands.
The first set, their own. The Bears had to extend the Warriors' woes if they were to be any hope of a miraculous top eight finish.
The others, Penrith and Canterbury-Bankstown. The Bears needed the Bulldogs to halt the Magpies' finals hopes and for the Sea Eagles to not collect the two points at Lottoland.
As fate would have it, both would happen.
But before the drama at North Sydney eventuated, a heart-stopping finish in Brookvale had the Bears – and Warriors – dead and buried.
Blacktown, beyond belief to most out of the know, opted for a gift two points from a penalty attempt to draw level with the Panthers. 12-all the scoreboard read, the one competition point earned set to be enough to scrape into the bottom of the 'eight'.
As it stood, the Bears' season was finished. So too was the Warriors', who trailed North Sydney by four points with under two minutes to play.
Enter Chanel Harris-Tavita.
Needing a hero, the Warriors found one in the form of their star No.6, who rose to the occasion to snatch a last-gasp try.
Levelling the scores at 22-all, a draw would have been enough to have seen the Warriors' season a week longer.
But such was the composure of the superstar-in-the-making, Harris-Tavita slotted the ensuing conversion to see his side to a two-point win – and into the finals series.
