The Western Force have snatched a miraculous come-from-behind win to beat Queensland Country 50-49 in a high scoring NRC thriller in Perth.
Fifteen tries were scored in the match, with the Force grabbing the lead for the first time in the 74th minute after winger Jonah Placid diving on an Andrew Deegan chip kick just centimetres from the dead ball line to seal the match.
Country held a 16-point lead midway through the second half but could not put the Force away, with some flimsy defence allowing the home side a pair of tries to set up Deegan and Placid's late heroics.
Deegan's kicking was poor for much of the game, with the playmaker handing possession back cheaply to the Queenslanders on several occasions.
But he saved his best for when it mattered most, with his chip for Placid pin-point, despite there being a case for putting the ball through the hands given the overlap created by the sin binning of Country winger Filipo Daugunu inside the final 10 minutes after he knocked on in a desperate intercept attempt with the Queensland defence stretched.
Country had been on song from the start, opening the scoring after just two minutes with winger Joey Fittock crashing over in the corner, with Rohan Saifoloi nailing the sideline conversion in a pointer to the flood of points that was to come.
The Force answered back quickly when Heath Tessman finished off a rolling maul, with Andrew Deegan's conversion levelling the scores at 7-7.
The teams went tit for tat again, Patrick James crossing for Queensland Country and Jack McGregor for the Force, to lock things up again at 14-14 before Reds winger Daugunu notched a double to push Country's lead out to 28-14.
The Force clawed their way back through centre Nick Jooste but Country pushed the margin out again when Angus Blyth crossed to take a 35-19 lead in the shadows of halftime.
Junior Wallabies back-rower Carlo Tizzano crossed under the posts before the break though, with the conversion helping the home side reduce the margin to nine points at the break.
Little changed after the break, with the Queenslanders picking up where they left off, another probing run from Daugunu setting Tate McDermott up for a try.
But the see-sawing continued, with Dom Hardman scoring for the Force before Country flyhalf Saifoloi scored under the posts to increase the visitors' lead to 49-33.
Junior Wallabies standout Harry Wilson, who last week inked a long-term deal with the Reds, was one of Country's best, getting them over the advantage line on several occasions to launch their raids.
The Queenslanders could not close it out though and some lazy defence allowed the Force to score twice more to get within four points of their rivals.
Jooste notched his second try of the match despite being ankle tapped about 10m from the line, the centre getting to his feet and pushing his way across the line despite the attention of several Country defenders.
His try was followed by another to Fergus Lee-Warner, who charged through the Queensland defence to get his side within sight of the lead.
So good for Country all day, Daugunu was the villain late in the piece, earning a yellow card in the 72nd minute after knocking the ball down, with the Force making the most of the extra man.
A Deegan kick found space behind the line, with Placid planting the ball just before the dead ball line to put the Force into the lead for the first time in the 75th minute.
RESULT
Western Force 50
Tries: Jooste 2, Tessman, McGregor, Tizzano, Hardman, Lee-Warner, Placid
Cons: Deegan 5
Queensland Country 49
Tries: Daugunu 2, Fittock, James, Blyth, McDermott, Saifoloi
Cons: Saifoloi 7
