The Cootamundra Tricolours have held firm atop the GrainCorp Cup Southern Division table after posting a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Grenfell at Panther Park.
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Trailing 14-0 at halftime, the ‘Colours ran riot in the second term to emerge 27-14 victors after a torrid affair.
Grenfell drew first blood after scoring a controversial 17th minute try following a clear obstruction on a Cootamundra player.
The Tricolours were eager to hit back, however the hosts were stoic in defence, forcing multiple handling errors to retain their seven-point buffer.
Grenfell’s resolve continued to be tested and ‘Colours looked set to score in the 33rd minute after the ball went wide close to the Panthers line.
However, the Grenfell winger had other ideas, intercepting the last pass and sprinting 100 metres to strike a crushing blow in the throes of halftime.
The ‘Colours needed a lively second half and fresh legs off the bench saw the side start strongly before a Bob Scott clearance saw Ash Hamilton regather and bamboozle seven would-be defenders enroute to a sensational solo try beside the uprights.
Matt Berkery’s conversion reduced the margin to seven and it was suddenly the ‘Colours who were dictating terms at Panther Park.
Fuelled by Hamilton’s breakthrough try, the ‘Colours backrow started wreaking havoc before a Berkery-led blindside raid saw Barkly Hardie touch down for Coota’s second in the 57th minute.
Spectacular tries seemed to be the order of the day and Joe “Hutchy” Makeham found himself leading the way after a surprise line-break from the ensuing kickoff.
The wing-forward sliced through some lacklustre Panthers defence before finding Dom Trinder, who launched a perfect cross-field kick into the arms of Bob Scott to complete the score and put the ‘Colours ahead for the first time.
Berkery’s conversion extended their lead to five and prompted a physical ten minutes of rugby, both on and off the ball.
With three minutes remaining, a Grenfell indiscretion handed Berkery a gift three points before Isaac Mitchell scored out wide to secure the bonus-point win and keep Cootamundra ahead of Temora on the ladder.
The coaching staff indicated that it was possibly the best win of the year, highlighting the improvements brought by structural changes after halftime.
Across a strong team performance, Joe Makeham, Josh Hudson and Corey Nicholson were standouts, with "Hutchy" taking out players’ player.
