As time ran down on Orange United's season, the Warriors found themselves deep in Molong territory with a chance to even the game.
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With nothing short of a converted try needed to level things up, star fullback Zara Hines put in a nicely weighted grubber kick to the right side of the field.
Instead of finding a teammate, it was Bulls centre Ellie Trindall who came up with the ball just a few metres off her own try line.
With space in front of her, the Molong flyer began her mad dash to the opposite end of Jack Huxley Oval.
It took her just 15 seconds from the time the ball hit her hands to placing it down for the match-clinching try.
![Defence, combined with big breakaway plays, was what got the Molong Bulls the victory over Orange United on August 12. Main picture by Carla Freedman Defence, combined with big breakaway plays, was what got the Molong Bulls the victory over Orange United on August 12. Main picture by Carla Freedman](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/YN4FA67iw2pXwXjwm2vmnJ/2b43f688-957d-4243-9169-d146a85508aa.png/r0_0_1920_1079_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"I just had to keep pushing," she said of her late-game heroics.
"We needed this to have a chance to get through to the grand final, so I just felt like I had to keep pushing."
What led to this point was a true back-and-forth affair as the two sides were locked at 10-10 with 20 minutes left in the game.
While the Warriors had plenty of field position, they weren't able to capitalise. This left the door open for the Bulls whose big play ability shone through once again.
In the span of seven minutes, Paige Bohringer, Trindall and captain Jesse Fulwood all crossed the try-line to see the game finish 28-10.
Warriors coach Jason French said it was that lack of execution which ultimately undid his side.
"We probably had the better of the field position, but to Molong's credit they defended well and we took some wrong options at crucial times," he said.
"The shed was quite sombre after."
The Orange outfit got off to a flying start to the 2023 Woodbridge Cup league tag competition and tasted victory in all four of their opening games.
But three losses on the trot saw their hopes for glory start to fade. In what was a congested ladder from start to finish, they were still able to squeak out a third place finish.
"We set a goal at the start of the season to finish top four and we achieved that," French added.
"It's a whole new ball game come the finals and we never recaptured that early season form. I thought we would lift again, but we just never lifted during the last couple of games."
As for the Bulls, they will now take on the Cargo Blue Heelers for a spot in the grand final.
Trindall knows just how much a shot at the title would mean for her team.
"We are all very close and we love each other a lot, so we just want to get through it together," she added.
"It would mean everything to get the win and to show we're better than what people say we are."
- MOLONG 28 (Ellie Trindall, Libby Peschka, Jesse Fulwood, Katie Fulwood and Paige Bohringer tries; Trindall 3, Katie Fulwood 1 conversions) defeated ORANGE UNITED 10 (Becky Percival and Rikeisha Ah-See tries; Kasey Byrne conversion).
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