The clutch gene... some players have it, some don't.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In the case of Orange CYMS' winger Addison Williams, he's got every ounce of crunch-time composure imaginable.
The 18-year-old sharpshooter sent the green and golds to the top of the Group 10 premier league table on Sunday as he drilled a 50-metre penalty goal after the siren, giving his troops a breathtaking 34-32 victory over the defending premiers Panthers at Wade Park.
And while most people would expect such a young player to tremble on stages like that, you can tell Williams was made for these moments.
"As soon as they pointed to the post I just got in my zone," he said just minutes after the match.
As soon as they pointed to the post I just got in my zone.
- Addison Williams.
As for the distance, even the finest NRL kickers would struggle with that kind of task, but Williams has drilled them from further.
"With a breeze at my back, my max distance is about 55-60 metres. I can handle 50 pretty easily."
Prior to the match-winning penalty, Williams was an underwhelming three from six with the boot, making the moment even more special for him.
"They had faith in me the whole time, I didn't ever doubt myself," he said.
The game will be remembered for what happened after full-time, but the 80 minutes prior were enthralling.
The home side exploded out of the gates as Daniel Mortimer shot off his own goal-line, intercepting a Panthers' pass and running 95 metres before eventually falling over in the corner.
Robbie Mortimer was next to strike as Williams found space down the left flank before booting it back in-field for the second rower.
With a 10-point lead and their tails up, CYMS struck twice more as they were keeping pace with the clock at 20-0.
Not a soul in attendance would have ruled the undermanned Panthers out of the contest and when they earned quality ball, Blake Seager crashed over the line to bring the scores to 20-6.
In the 27th minute when CYMS were back on the attack, Williams struck again as he produced a miracle pass to Dom Maley after he was almost certain to be tumbled over the sideline.
But, tries to Bathurst's Ben Gunn and Malik Blenman brought the scores to 24-18 at half-time as Williams was just two-from-five with the boot.
Williams stretched the advantage to eight in the 50th minute as Mortimer opted to take the two points from right in front, a decision that looked to have backfired after Panthers scored the next 14 points through Jedd Betts and Charlie Hutchings, the latter juggling the ball half-a-dozen times before scoring out wide.
With the scoreboard reading 32-26, the morale was low at Wade Park as it looked as though a draw would be the best possible outcome for the home side for three minutes left.
But when the green and golds received a penalty in attacking territory, Joe Lasagavibau caught Panthers off guard with a quick tap, powering his way over the line and bringing the scores to 32-all with 70 seconds to go.
The hosts worked their way down to the half-way line off the ensuing kick-off, and when the they received a penalty in the middle of the field, Williams casually marched to the spot and delivered the decisive blow.
"Two points is two points, doesn't matter how it comes," he said.
"We got a win under the belt and CYMS are on top now."
Panthers' manager Danny Dwyer was disappointed after the contest, but knows when you go down 20-0 you can't necessarily expect to win after that.
"It was pretty interesting to start the game, we had very little ball," he said.
"We got back into the game by half-time and the boys were pretty confident they could go on and get the job done.
"It was a pretty close finish but I think the draw would have been a fair result."
Part of the narrative at Carrington Park right now is the size of the injury list as Keelan Bresac, Jeremy Gordon, Josh Rivett and Willie Wright were among regular first-graders who didn't play on Saturday.
"You can only do what you can do, there's still a lot of boys to come back into the side," he said.
"There's some boys who have come in and done a good job but at the back-end of the season we should be back to full-strength and we're looking forward to that."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.centralwesterndaily.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Catch up on our news headlines at Google News
HAVE YOUR SAY
Send us a letter to the editor using the form below ...