Heading into the final quarter, Bathurst Bushrangers Rebels were steaming towards their third win of the season and looking to show why they're the benchmark of the AFL Central West 2019 season.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
However, despite going into the final quarter three goals down, an Andrew Nelson kick 20 seconds before the siren putting the Orange Tigers up by a solitary point, to claim a miraculous 10-7-77 to 9-12-76 win.
It took match officials more than five minutes to confirm if the result was a Tigers win or a draw, with the at least three shots on goal made in the final few minutes, but the Tigers would have taken either result considering their rampaging final quarter.
Rebels had the Tigers on the ropes having dominated the midfield on the back of Matt Archer and Andrew James, but had no fresh legs on the bench to counter a surging Orange outfit.
We put our defenders under the pump all day and our midfield probably got beaten in the clearances but just scrapped it out.
- Tigers ruckman Andrew Nelson
Angus Henderson, Mick Evans, Logan Crimp and Luke Thorley took control in the middle in the final stanza and Andrew Nelson kicked two of four last-quarter goals to claim the win, including the final one seconds before the final siren to claim back-to-back wins over Bushrangers sides.
Nelson said it was "pretty special" to kick the last goal, but the ruckman said he wasn't the Tigers' hero of the day.
"[The goal] was a bit of reward for effort for the boys up the ground, we put our defenders under the pump all day and our midfield probably got beaten in the clearances but just scrapped it out," he said.
"You can't kick goals if they don't kick it to you."
The ball slingshotted from end to end as both sides ran out of legs, but kicking with the breeze, the Tigers were able to do more forward of centre and their defence held the Bushrangers forward line to just three scoring shots.
Nelson said the Tigers' backline in the last quarter was formidable.
"Joel Crosswell was top-notch across half-back, Cal Hunt has to be commended for his job on Tim Hunter, the premier forward in the competition who kicked eight the other week," he said.
"I think the young kids were good, we had a bit of pace around the place."
Young gun Pete Byrne kicked four, while Callan Naden and Henderson both proved crucial on either wing and Nelson was proud they were able to match an admittably undermanned Bushrangers' side.
It's always disappointing to go down that way but that's footy sometimes, it was a tough old game and if it comes down to the last kick we've definitely got some things we need to work on.
- Rebels captain Tim Hunter
"Coming into the game we spoke that the Rebels are probably the yardstick of the competition when you look at their team on paper, obviously they had a couple out but you can only beat what they put on the field," he said.
The Rebels showed why they were the yardstick early, consistently kicking over the top of the Tigers' defence and running into goal, with Matt Archer picking up three goals from the midfield and spearhead Tim Hunter - who was isolated one-on-one with Hunt - kicked three.
Despite dominance in the ruck from Nelson and Mark Mori, the Rebels midfield were able to shark the ball out of the ball-ups, with handball chains carving up the Tigers' half-back line, giving the visitors an 11-point lead at the long break and 18 points at three-quarter-time.
Hunter, the Rebels' skipper, said it was a "really good contest" but was annoyed the side let the win slip.
"It's always disappointing to go down that way but that's footy sometimes, it was a tough old game and if it comes down to the last kick we've definitely got some things we need to work on," he said.
He said he'd need to wait and see on injuries as to how bad they would be, with Thomas Murphy and Andrew James among those unable to run the game out, but said the side still should have claimed victory.
"It was a tough finish but that's footy and you can't use that as an excuse, we had 18 out there in the end so just couldn't get the job done," he said.
I was really impressed with some of the blokes who stood up, some of the young kids that put their head over it.
- Tim Hunter
"We didn't have many rotations, it's a tough old game and some days you don't get it done and today was one of those days."
He lauded the performance of young guns Andrew Knox and James Smith, both of whom put their heads over the ball in the midfield, especially towards the back end of the contest.
"I was really impressed with some of the blokes who stood up, some of the young kids that put their head over it playing a seasoned team in Orange," Hunter said.
The Rebels will have a week off to assess the game, with Hunter saying composure with ball in hand was one of the few different things the side would work on ahead of next weekend's bye.
Orange Tigers come up against Cowra next week, after the Blues chalked up their first win for the season over Parkes in a 18-11-119 to 10-7-67 victory, while Bathurst Giants whacked the Bushrangers Outlaws 21-25-151 to 4-10-34.
- Orange Tigers 10-7-67 (Goals: Pete Byrne 4, Andrew Nelson 3, Tyson Hannus, Mark Mori, Max Blysma) def Bathurst Bushrangers Rebels 9-12-66 (Goals: Matt Archer 3, Tim Hunter 3, Josh Smith, Tom Murphy and Pete Fisher).
WANT MORE ORANGE AND REGIONAL SPORT?
- Receive our free newsletters delivered to your inbox, as well as breaking news alerts. Sign up below ...