THE boot of ice cool centre Matt Beattie and the motivation to make a struggling mate smile - that's what helped St Pat's win a golden point thriller and be crowned Western Under 21s premiers on Saturday.
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When Beattie's penalty goal attempt from 32 metres out at Forbes' Spooner Oval sailed between the sticks, it handed the Saints a 30-28 win over the Orange Orangutans.
It sealed a remarkable comeback win for the Saints, who had trailed 16-0, and iced an undefeated 2023 campaign for the Tyson Medlyn coached side.
As the men in blue and white gathered in celebration, there was another Saint on their mind too. A Saint who never got the chance to play in the now annual pre-season competition.
"It was great to win for Tallis Tobin, he was our biggest motivation," Medlyn said.
"He was going to play, but the Friday before we kicked off our season he found out he had cancer. So he was a driving force.
"He wasn't on the field, but he was still with us."
The motivation to win for Tobin, who hade made the switch from Bathurst Panthers to St Pat's before being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, was strong.
The Saints were the highest ranked side after the pool rounds and advanced straight to the decider.
But competition newcomers the Orangutans had the Saints - winners of the 2021 Western under 21s premiership and last season's runners-up - under pressure early.
They scored the first 16 points at Spooner Oval.
"We let the occasion get to us a little bit and we went away from what we'd practiced," Medlyn said.
"We had to get forward, it was getting in behind the ruck, getting to a kick and letting the rest of the game look after itself. We went away from that early and moved the ball when we shouldn't have been and there were a few mistakes.
"It was 16-0 so Orange, they had their tails up, but we just knew we had to weather the storm. I knew that the boys were good enough to pull back that score line, but I knew it was going to be tough.
"I was nervous, more for the fact Orange was playing good, they had us on the back foot and were doing all the things right. They were doing exactly what you need to do to win a grand final.
It was prop Aiden Stait who got the Saints on the board as he scored before half-time and two minutes after the break the gap between the rivals reduced further.
This time it was Saints winger Tekaokao Kairimu who crossed to make it 16-10.
The Saints were back in it and with 15 minutes to go after forcing a line drop out, lock Henry Oates steamed over to put his side within two of the lead.
A Saints knock-on helped the Orangutans hit back with a Sean Carpenter try between the posts to push ahead 22-14, but there was more drama to come.
Cooper Earsman scored for the Saints with four minutes to go and Beattie converted, then the centre nailed a penalty goal attempt to lock it up at 22-all with less than a minute left.
The deadlock remained at the end of regulation time, meaning 10 minutes of extra-time were added.
Medlyn's side scored in the first minute of extra-time thanks to Ryan Small, but the Orange outfit responded to lock it up with a tick over 60 seconds left.
It was lock Ben Blimka who crossed for the Orangutans to make it a grand final brace, with fullback Max Wilson, who had also crossed for a try earlier, adding the extras.
That meant the match entered golden point. That's when Beattie became the hero.
"Beattie had a hit up and got head-highed, so we got a penalty about 32 metres out and it was all up to Beattie," Medlyn said.
"It was probably right in front, but 32 metres out so it was probably the hardest kick of the game.
"But Beattie is one of those kids, I don't know if he feels pressure. No matter what occasion it is, he turns up for it.
"What better bloke kicking than Beattie? He's the one you want with the ball."
Beattie's conversion sealed the Saints their second win in the competition, adding to their triumph over Dubbo CYMS in the inaugural edition.
Beattie finished as joint leading point scorer for the competition alongside Nyngan's Jackson Cox on 30 apiece, while Pat's centre Ash Cosgrove was player of the grand final.
The win means St Pat's has lost just twice across the three years of the under 21s competition.
"I always have confidence in my teams no matter what, I know they'll always work hard to make sure we win it," Medlyn said.
ST PAT'S 30 (Aiden Stait, Tekaokao Kairimu, Henry Oates, Cooper Earsman, Ryan Small tries; Matt Beattie 5 goals) defeated ORANGE ORANGUTANS 28 (Ben Blimka 2, Cooper Monk, Max Wilson, Sean Carpenter tries; Max Wilson 4 goals)
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