After a disappointing opening eight weeks for both the Roos and Knights, a win in the Round 9 'M1 Derby' was vital to both teams' hopes of making a mid-season run to figure in the all-important top eight.
Match: Roos v Knights
Round 9 -
home Team
Roos
11th Position
away Team
Knights
12th Position
Venue: Morry Breen Oval, Central Coast
There were two points up for grabs, but eventually, those two points were divided and shared – an unlikely 23-all draw ensured Wyong went without a win since Round 3, while Newcastle remained anchored to the bottom of the Intrust Super Premiership NSW ladder despite snatching a point.
And snatch it they did – trailing 23-22 with only seconds on the clock, up stepped the Knights' Jack Johns to slot home a field-goal from distance.
The buzzer-beating kick left the Roos strewn across Morry Breen Oval – their disbelief almost tangible, so too the side's collective disappointment.
In a back-and-forth contest where the lead changed hands on five occasions, Sean O'Sullivan had the Roos up 23-22 with his 77th minute one-pointer – but the strike was cancelled out by Johns' right boot, just minutes later.
