redemption
New member
from SMH today - by Chris Barrett & Glenn Jackson
SHATTERED Wests Tigers lock Chris Heighington said he was ''an emotional wreck'' after his role in the stunning last-minute scrum turnover that allowed the Sydney Roosters one final fling with the ball in Saturday night's epic qualifying final at the Sydney Football Stadium.
With only 30 seconds remaining in regular time, and the Tigers leading 15-14, Tim Sheens's side earned a scrum in their own half after a brutal Simon Dwyer tackle forced the ball from the grasp of Roosters forward Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
The task was simple - win the scrum, run out the clock and send the ball into Row Z to kill off the game. However, the Tigers inexplicably coughed up possession at the base of the scrum, with Roosters front-rower Frank-Paul Nuuausala diving on the ball. Captain Braith Anasta subsequently landed a long-range field goal to level the scores after the full-time siren, before a Shaun Kenny-Dowall intercept try eventually brought an end to a frantic 20 minutes of extra time.
Tigers second-rower Liam Fulton, who threw the pass that landed on Kenny-Dowall's chest, was too disappointed to comment, having told teammates afterwards he blamed himself for the defeat.
Heighington, meanwhile, told of how he watched in shock as Nuuausala pounced on the loose ball at the rear of the broken scrum. ''I'm an emotional wreck at the moment,'' Heighington told Sportsnewsfirst.com.au. ''If we had won we would have got the week off but that's footy and at times it's a cruel game.''
The Tigers were understood to be furious at referee Shayne Hayne's decision not to order the scrum be re-packed after a strong Roosters push had thrown it off balance.
''It was a scratchy scrum and I'm not sure where [Nuuausala] came from or how he did it,'' Heighington said. ''I was at lock and I'm clueless to how he got it. I think it was a bit of a controversial scrum. ''
Nuuausala, continuing to enjoy his breakout season in the NRL, could hardly believe his eyes when he saw the ball bobbling around for him to dive on. ''During the week our assistant coach was talking about loose balls and [how] I might get one during the game,'' he said. ''When Jared got hit and lost the ball I was thinking 'We'll just go home and wait for the result of the other game'.
''Heighington was just standing there … I saw it and just dove on it. We planned to push harder and they just broke away. Heighington was just over the ball and I dove on it. I couldn't believe my luck.''
The 23-year-old New Zealand international was a reluctant hero. He is quietly spoken, but knew full well the importance of the play.
''It was like a union scrum for us,'' Nuuausala said. ''I thought 'We're not going to get a chance to get the ball - they're going to kick it out'. I was just happy I dove on the ball and gave the boys a chance.
''We knew we could come back. We've been doing it all year. We never doubt ourselves. We know we can score points and we showed it.''
The role of Nuuausala and the Roosters pack was not lost on teammates. ''I didn't even know the boys were planning that - the forwards just took that on themselves,'' halfback Mitchell Pearce said. ''It was awesome.''
Tigers five-eighth Benji Marshall said Heighington and Fulton should not be made scapegoats for the defeat. ''There were heaps of other things out there which contributed to the result,'' Marshall said. ''They've been two of our most solid players all year. The whole team's behind them. I'll be backing them for next week. There were heaps of other opportunities we missed to put the game away.''
SHATTERED Wests Tigers lock Chris Heighington said he was ''an emotional wreck'' after his role in the stunning last-minute scrum turnover that allowed the Sydney Roosters one final fling with the ball in Saturday night's epic qualifying final at the Sydney Football Stadium.
With only 30 seconds remaining in regular time, and the Tigers leading 15-14, Tim Sheens's side earned a scrum in their own half after a brutal Simon Dwyer tackle forced the ball from the grasp of Roosters forward Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
The task was simple - win the scrum, run out the clock and send the ball into Row Z to kill off the game. However, the Tigers inexplicably coughed up possession at the base of the scrum, with Roosters front-rower Frank-Paul Nuuausala diving on the ball. Captain Braith Anasta subsequently landed a long-range field goal to level the scores after the full-time siren, before a Shaun Kenny-Dowall intercept try eventually brought an end to a frantic 20 minutes of extra time.
Tigers second-rower Liam Fulton, who threw the pass that landed on Kenny-Dowall's chest, was too disappointed to comment, having told teammates afterwards he blamed himself for the defeat.
Heighington, meanwhile, told of how he watched in shock as Nuuausala pounced on the loose ball at the rear of the broken scrum. ''I'm an emotional wreck at the moment,'' Heighington told Sportsnewsfirst.com.au. ''If we had won we would have got the week off but that's footy and at times it's a cruel game.''
The Tigers were understood to be furious at referee Shayne Hayne's decision not to order the scrum be re-packed after a strong Roosters push had thrown it off balance.
''It was a scratchy scrum and I'm not sure where [Nuuausala] came from or how he did it,'' Heighington said. ''I was at lock and I'm clueless to how he got it. I think it was a bit of a controversial scrum. ''
Nuuausala, continuing to enjoy his breakout season in the NRL, could hardly believe his eyes when he saw the ball bobbling around for him to dive on. ''During the week our assistant coach was talking about loose balls and [how] I might get one during the game,'' he said. ''When Jared got hit and lost the ball I was thinking 'We'll just go home and wait for the result of the other game'.
''Heighington was just standing there … I saw it and just dove on it. We planned to push harder and they just broke away. Heighington was just over the ball and I dove on it. I couldn't believe my luck.''
The 23-year-old New Zealand international was a reluctant hero. He is quietly spoken, but knew full well the importance of the play.
''It was like a union scrum for us,'' Nuuausala said. ''I thought 'We're not going to get a chance to get the ball - they're going to kick it out'. I was just happy I dove on the ball and gave the boys a chance.
''We knew we could come back. We've been doing it all year. We never doubt ourselves. We know we can score points and we showed it.''
The role of Nuuausala and the Roosters pack was not lost on teammates. ''I didn't even know the boys were planning that - the forwards just took that on themselves,'' halfback Mitchell Pearce said. ''It was awesome.''
Tigers five-eighth Benji Marshall said Heighington and Fulton should not be made scapegoats for the defeat. ''There were heaps of other things out there which contributed to the result,'' Marshall said. ''They've been two of our most solid players all year. The whole team's behind them. I'll be backing them for next week. There were heaps of other opportunities we missed to put the game away.''
