It was an incredible individual effort but Emus winger Leah Haydon believes she had the full force of her teammates spurring her on.
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Haydon scored the match-winning try with less than a minute remaining as Emus defeated Orange City 19-17 in a thrilling derby in the Westfund Ferguson Cup on Saturday, May 18.
The home side left it late against their fierce rivals, scoring twice in the closing stages.
Haydon's effort started in Emus' half before some quick passing put her into space and she took care of the rest, swerving around her opponent to score under the posts.
Speaking in the excitement of post-match celebrations, Haydon was over the moon.
"I think I just was a bit angry," she said.
"I just wanted to get out there and bring it home for the girls because we worked super, super hard these last few weeks.
"So it's good to see it come through."
In what was a rematch of the 2023 minor semi-final, both sides showed what the derby meant to them.
There was an audible crunch when tackles flew in and the back and forth was non-stop between the two packs.
It showed on the scorecard as well with two red cards dished out for foul play - Emus' Tamika Frankham and City's Oriah Wilkin both sent simultaneously for a clash in the ruck.
Lions prop Paige Selten was then sin-binned for repeated infringements shortly after.
The visitors had started the better side and led 17-7 until Emus' two late tries.
Haydon said the side enjoyed the niggle and was proud of the way they didn't drop their heads when City jumped out to a lead.
"That's the main thing, we stayed in it," she said.
"It has let us down in the past, but it's just good to see how well we've been working and how hard it's paying off.
"It's always been like that [rivalry], but it's what makes this game great."
