Northlander Iwi Hauraki scored the winning try in a thrilling curtain-raiser for the NRL Grand Final in Sydney.
The Whangarei-born winger pounced on a grubber kick to score in the corner after the Wentworthville Magpies, a feeder club for Parramatta Eels, had slugged it out for 104 minutes against the Newtown
Jets, a feeder club for the Sydney Roosters, to find a winner in the New South Wales VB Premier League grand final.
The game was believed to have been the longest NRL curtain-raiser in history.
The teams went into golden extra-time, locked together at 8-8. By the 100th minute more than 10 unsuccessful field goal attempts were made, before the Magpies halfback darted out of dummy half and grubbered through for Hauraki to sprint round his marker and score.
Hauraki had a strong game on defence and attack, repeatedly breaking the first tackle running out of dummy half.
The former Kamo High School rugby player is in his fourth year of professional league in Australia, where he hopes to break into the NRL premier league.
Hauraki's match-winning performance was his last game for Wentworth but should hopefully secure him a new contract for next season.
His delighted mother Lesley Hauraki said the game was a cliff-hanger. "We're all very proud of him. Hopefully this (performance) will give him the breakthrough he's worked so hard for," she said.
