A try inside the last 10 minutes has given the Narromine Gorillas a heartbreaking victory over the Dubbo Rhinos on Saturday in their New Holland Cup clash.
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The Gorillas started the match on fire at Apex Oval but the Rhinos got themselves back into things, leading late before a try to Ratu Roko sealed the 23-21 win for Narromine.
It's the second time this season Narromine has beaten Dubbo, after doing so back in round one.
However, Rhinos coach Doug Sandry was proud of how his team bounced back after conceding a lot of points early.
"They came out on fire, they scored 18 points in the first 15 or so minutes," he said.
"We were behind the eight ball from the start but we did grind our way back into things.
"We led 21-18 with eight minutes left then they scored a late try.
"We forgot to move up on Ratu Roko off a kick and basically that was it, you can't let blokes like him run."
A double to Viliame Turuva gave the Rhinos every chance of the win after Dylan Hill scored as well.
Trailing 18-0 at halftime, the Rhinos scored 21 straight points before Roko's last-ditch effort, one which sealed the game for the visiting squad.
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Without several regular starters, the Rhinos opted to go with a new-look side including convincing James Dodd to come out of retirement.
A few younger players got the opportunity to play, having impressed Sandry already this season in second grade and he feels there was a lot to like about the way certain individuals played.
"I'm really happy with the performance of some of our young guys," he said.
"They stood up today, I thought Alex Daley-Brown was great.
"He played really well, it's a big position playing hooker in first grade when are only a young kid and he was great.
"Jayden Powell at halfback had a terrific game, I thought Ethan Smith at flanker was outstanding along with Loni Langi.
"They both had terrific matches and worked themselves into the ground."
It wasn't just the forwards who impressed the Rhinos coach, one of their wingers also was great but Sandry said there are a few concerns going forward.
"There were some really good signs in the backs as well, our winger Ava Sanga was devastating every time he touched the ball,"
"But once again we copped another injury, that's about six blokes now that we have injured."
The squad will hit the road in their next match to take on CSU Bathurst.
Meanwhile, Parkes ended Mudgee's unbeaten start to the season, winning in a nail-biting match 22-18.
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