A decision by the Cobar Roosters to take a penalty kick at the 60 minute mark in their Christie & Hood Castlereagh Rugby League First Grade game against the Coonabarabran Unicorns on Saturday ultimately paid off.
While the Roosters may have led from start to finish in Saturday’s Round 3 game, the Unicorns were always breathing down their necks as Cobar eventually came out on top with a narrow 28-26 win.
Kai Taylor opened the scoring early for the Roosters and raced away to record two back-to-back tries which were both converted by Thomas Plater.
Kody Ford also crossed for a try in the first half with the Unicorns answering with three tries of their own (only one of which was converted) to see Cobar go to the half time break with a 16-14 lead.
Nathan McAndrew scored soon after the restart and then Gerald Mackey’s try, which was converted by Plater, had Cobar ahead
26-14.
The Unicorns kept on coming and a converted try narrowed the margin to 26-20.
With 20 minutes left to play, Plater’s successful penalty kick gave Cobar some extra breathing space.
Coonabarabran however, weren’t done yet and crossed for a converted try in the final five minutes of the match to bring the margin back to two points the difference, 28-26.
A lack of discipline by both sides in the dying stages of the game resulted in the score not changing and Cobar fans breathed a sigh of relief when the final siren blew and the Roosters were able to claim the two point win.
