THE Hunter Wildfires have missed out on a maiden piece of silverware but they remain in control of their Shute Shield finals hopes - albeit without a key component.
Randwick replacement prop Ben Higgins crashed over from close range in the 78th minute to snatch the Galloping Greens a 22-21 win over the Wildfires at No.2 Sportsground on Saturday and take hold of the Sir Roden Cutler Shield.
The challenge trophy can only be lost at home. Had the Wildfires hung on, they would have won the shield as their final two games are on the road to Easts and Gordon.
Compounding the result, Easts stunned Gordon 48-20 to move above the Wildfires into eighth spot. Both teams are on 42 points, but Easts ( +18) have a superior points differential to the Wildfires (-16).
The Wildfires tackle Easts, who they beat 29-25 in round eight, at Woollahra Oval on Saturday. If the Wildfires win, they will have one foot in the play-off door. A loss would likely mean they have to beat Gordon in the final round and have other results go their way.
They will be without industrious No.8 Morgan Innes and possibly powerhouse centre Tyrone Edwards.
Innes tore the medial ligament in his knee in the second half against Randwick and will be sidelined for at least four weeks.
Edwards has a shoulder issue and will be assessed later in the week.
On the positive side, classy playmaker Nate De Thierry will be on deck. De Thierry was a stand out for Hong Kong in their 44-22 loss to Tonga in a World Cup qualifier at the Gold Coast on Saturday.
"It goes without saying, next week is massive for us," coach Scott Coleman said. "We need to execute better than we did against Randwick.
"We should have won it. We made a couple of critical mistakes at critical times. We lacked polish in how to close out a game."
Andrew Tuala, who made a much-anticipated debut for the Wildfires, charged over from a lineout just before half-time to trail 15-14.
They took the lead three minutes after the break when long-striding Fijian breakaway Joe Tamani burst through the middle near halfway and out paced the cover. Connor Winchester converted for 21-15.
The Wildfires, who were camped in their own end for large periods, had a chance to seal the win when Edwards found a hole only to be pulled down just short of the tryline. However, they lacked composure and gave away a penalty at the ruck.
Five minutes later, Higgins burrowed over.
The home side had a chance to snatch a win at the death. From a penalty, they moved into Randwick territory. They chipped away through a dozen phases and were close to the line when the ball spilled out the back of a ruck. Randwick halfback Dylan Dowling swooped and kicked it into touch.
Pointscore: Norths 60, Sydney Uni 57, Manly 52, Eastwood 47, Warringah 45, Randwick 44, Gordon 43, Easts 42, Wildfires 42, Two Blues 38, West Harbour 24, Southern Districts 21.
