Under trying circumstances and with just one player left on the bench, the Canberra Region representative team have won through to the final of the Country Rugby League championships with a one point 21-20 win over Newcastle.
The match was played at Camden on Saturday and the Canberra Region team will now play Illawarra in the tier one final in Mudgee this Saturday.
The team had to endure adversity to get the win, with just the one player available on the bench for most of the second half losing Joe Picker (concussion) and Sione Taka (dislocated finger), and Tyler Stevens (quad) not long after halftime.
Codie Medway also played with a broken nose after earlier departing the field for a short stanza.
Canberra was ahead 20-8 when halfback Marc Herbert kicked a field goal to edge the team ahead 21-8, a moment which proved pivotal at the end of the match.
Coach Simon Woolford praised the resilience of the team and was proud of the effort showed by the team to hold on for the win.
"We were down on troops and we did well to hang on, it was unbelievable," Woolford said.
"You could see it unfolding that they would have the legs to run over the top of us, but our boys didn't give in.
Canberra will now face Illawarra, who Woolford says will be another tough opposition.
"Illawarra has been in the final for years and years, so it's going to be another tough assignment, but winning today will be a massive confidence boost, especially with the players we had go off during the game."
