Gold Coast scrumhalf Ash Taylor nailed a golden-point field goal to lift his side to a dramatic 29-28 win over South Sydney in Sunday’s NRL clash in Perth.
The Rabbitohs thought they had won the match in the first half of extra time when Adam Reynolds slotted a scrappy field goal from just 20m out.
But the winning point was denied by the video referee, who ruled Rabbitohs prop Nathan Brown had obstructed a Titans defender who was attempting to charge down Reynolds’ kick.
The Rabbitohs’ ecstasy turned to agony in the second half of extra time when Taylor made no mistake with his own field goal attempt.
The result was Gold Coast’s third win on the trot, lifting their season record to 6-6.
The Rabbitohs (5-7) now face a battle to reach the finals.
South Sydney looked dead and buried after going 18-0 down in the 45th minute in front of 13,142 fans.
But the Rabbitohs pulled a rabbit out of the hat by scoring five second-half tries.
Cameron McInnes danced his way to the line with just 52 seconds remaining to get the Rabbitohs within reach, before Adam Reynolds nailed the conversion after the final siren to send the match to golden point.
Reynolds had two missed field goal attempts in the first half of golden point.
Earlier, the Titans looked the more dangerous of the two sides in the opening half.
A moment of brute strength from Titans prop Ryan James, and a mistake from Rabbitohs star Greg Inglis proved to be the two key moments of the first half.
James scored the opening try in the 13th minute when he outmuscled three Rabbitohs defenders to ground the ball.
And the Rabbitohs conceded a second try just a minute before halftime when Inglis lost the ball as he tried to offload while being tackled.
The Titans swooped on the loose ball, with Taylor sprinting 50m to touch down, giving Gold Coast a 12-0 lead at the break.
South Sydney’s bid for victory appeared over early in the second half when Tyrone Roberts crossed to make it 18-0.
But from there the Rabbitohs finally came to life.
Bryson Goodwin started the fightback with a smart sidestep to cross in the 49th minute.
And when Dane Nielsen touched down in the 53rd minute, it was officially game on.
