The Jamberoo Superoos have returned to the winner's circle after securing a heart-stopping 26-22 win over the Shellharbour City Sharks in what many have said was one of the best games of the season at Kevin Walsh Oval on Saturday.
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In a see-sawing encounter in which Sharks captain Matt Carroll was celebrating his 200th first grade game, the lead changed an incredible eight times, with the Superoos being spearheaded by a superb game by stand-in fullback Nathan Gallestegui.
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The game started at a frantic pace and Carroll's milestone was spoiled in the opening minutes when he took the odds to tackling Jamberoo lock Luke Asquith without the ball in a scoring position, spending the next 10 minutes in the sin-bin.
The home side took advantage of the extra man when they spread the ball to the right and Gallestegui sent rookie winger Jordan Xuerub diving over in the corner.
Matt Forsyth missed the conversion but Jamberoo led 4-0.
The loss of Carroll was noticeable when his side got into attacking positions, but when he did return they looked much more composed, opening their account in the 25th minute.
With lock Hudson Spicer sending second-rower James Ralphs crashing over, and with a successful Carroll conversion the Sharks took the lead.
It didn't take long for the Superoos to hit back however when the rampaging Kyle Stone charged through two Sharks defenders to cross near the posts just four minutes later.
Forsyth was able to successfully convert and the home side took a 10-6 lead into the break.
The second half started in sensational fashion when Sharks flyer Jye Brooker fielded a floating Jono Dallas clearing kick and took off on a brilliant 75 metre run to score out wide.
Carroll converted and the Sharks led 12-10.
The scoring see-saw continued just five minutes later when Jamberoo hooker James Asquith spotted some lazy defenders at the ruck and was able to race 40 metres from dummy-half to score near the posts, with Forsyth converting to give his side a 16-12 lead.
Both sides were starting to look fatigued by the pace of the game and in the 55th minute Ivan Wood sent replacement Chris Woods over from close range and Carroll's conversion had it at 18-16 to the Sharks.
It was tit-for-tat when Mark Asquith sent prop Jayden Foye over for a well-deserved try for the Superoos to lead again, before a rare mistake at the back by Gallestegui gave the Sharks a chance to attack and Brooker scored his second try of the day for the Sharks to lead 22-20 with seven minutes remaining.
It seemed inevitable there would be some late game drama with how the second-half had unfolded, and that's exactly what happened.
With three minutes remaining, the Superoos spread the ball wide and Mark Asquith and Simon Maslanka showed great hands as Gallestegui ran the perfect line back towards the posts to score. much to the delight of the home crowd.
Forsyth stepped up and converted the clutch conversion to give Jamberoo a 26-22 lead.
The Superoos managed to defuse the short kick-off, however lost the ball on the first tackle and three successive penalties. including two after the fulltime siren right on Jamberoo's line weren't enough for the Sharks to score again.
Gallestegui was a standout as Man of the Match, while Mark Asquith, Luke Asquith, Jayden Foye, and Kyle Stone were among the Superoos best.
Jye Brooker, James Ralphs, Emanuel Sultana and Matt Carroll never stopped trying for the Sharks.
Jamberoo will look to Gerringong next week in a clash of the titans, while the Sharks will look to get back on track against the Albion Park-Oak Flats Eagles.