Four seconds.
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That was all that was left on the clock when Logan Aoake cut his way through both the falling snow and defensive line to cross the line to give the Hunter-Western Hornets Under 14 boys their dream start to the NSW Touch Junior Regionals on Saturday.
Their opponents on the team sheet were Sydney Rebels, who they claimed a nail-biting 2-1 win over, but both sides were battling against a third, larger foe - the weather.
With blustering winds and heavy snow falling through most of the affair, cold hands made it hard to hold onto and pick up the ball, with several penalties from either side from simply not being able to roll the ball cleanly due to the cold.
Early, Rebels had looked the slicker side, opening their account early on in the piece through Ethan Swindle but despite dominating possession couldn't land a killing blow on their regional foes.
The Orange locals in Hornets sides were always going to be a "secret weapon", and they proved to be for the under 14 boys, as Isiah Magnus stepped up on his home deck, sliding over the line when the snow was at its heaviest.
The next 15 minutes were spent mostly in the Rebels' attacking end, but the Hornets' defence held up and kept pushing their Sydney opposition back towards the centre line, before making their last-ditch run to score.
Aoake took off on a final run down the left side after the Hornets had swarmed to get the ball to him, crossing the line with the buzzer sounding just seconds later as coach Mitch Walkedon lauded a "very, very tough and brave" performance.
"They're a very good bunch of boys who just keep trying and they don't give up. They're there with water bottles and blankets and it's snowing but they just kept believing and supported each other and that's what we wanted," Walkaden said.
"It would have been easy for when they dropped behind early to drop their bundle but they stuck together in trying conditions.
"There'll be lots of dropped balls over the weekend but they just have to stick together."
Rebels manager Mick Hyett said the buzzer-beater result was a "killer".
"You don't know how much that's a killer right on the buzzer, but it's a full game, they had to play to the final second," he said.
"We were on top, it was just last passes in this weather it's all about control in this weather and both teams were dropping balls but they held it and took their advantages when they could."
Hyett said his side "did well" to cope with the cold, but the tournament was a great chance for the Rebels to come together.
"It's really good, cold, but it's a great experience for the boys, one game down and we've got another six to go," he said.
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