A BOUNCE off the crossbar was all that separated the Oberon Tigers from the second win of their Woodbridge Cup league tag campaign as the hosts had to settle for a 24-all draw against Condobolin on Saturday.
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Condobolin had forced their way back into the game after the Tigers threatened to jump away but Oberon had one last chance to regain the lead with a field goal attempt from 40 metres out, which bounced back into play off the crossbar.
But Condobolin themselves had also missed their chance to take the lead with a missed conversion after their final try, with just a handful of minutes left in the match.
Tigers now have one win, a loss and a draw from their three matches this season and coach Shan Foley said the team is getting to grips with the game at a positive rate.
"It was a very nerve wreaking game. Both teams played really well," she said.
"We got away early, which was nice, but Condo came back strongly. Our attack was really positive. It was just our defence that we need to tighten up a bit towards the end of our games.
"I've got a new team this year that have only played a couple of games with each other. Give us four to five weeks and they'll be pretty strong, I hope.
"This team is the tackle team that I've brought over to league tag. They understand the game but obviously tagging is a bit of an adjustment from tackling, but they're doing very well.
There were danger signs early for the Tigers in Saturday's game when Condobolin scored on their first set of the match but Oberon regathered themselves to take the lead heading into half-time.
The Tigers appeared to have the match under control before Condobolin hit back late into the half to force the exciting conclusion.
Foley said it was a match that could easily have gone either way.
"We've got a great kicker and she didn't miss all day. That really helped us," Foley said.
"They were scoring but weren't converting so we were staying that little bit in front, then they scored but didn't convert to leave it at 24-all. That was in front of the posts so we thought we were done, for sure.
"We had a missed field goal attempt from a long way out, probably around 40m, that hit the crossbar."