So it was only fitting Sunday’s Blowes Clothing Cup minor semi-final at No. 1 Oval between the two evenly-matched rivals was only decided on the very last play.

The Roos had dominated possession and had not trailed through 77 minutes of the match but from nowhere Bathurst stole possession 30m out from the tryline, and after an Adam Myles break Brendan Nelson was on hand to cross and put his side in front.

Brad Glasson’s conversion made it 17-11 but the drama wasn’t over there.

On the back of five successive late penalties, the hosts worked the ball downfield and hammered the line, but the Bulldogs’ defence never buckled and the men in blue and gold managed to hold the Roos up across the line as the full-time whistle sounded.

“Unbelievable. That was a tough game,” Bulldogs skipper Scott Johnston said after the match.

“I think we defended for more time than we had the ball and to win at Dubbo is always a terrific result but to win in a semi-final like that gives the boys a lot of confidence.”

Johnston had plenty of praise for the Roos, saying their attack was “outstanding” but added his side benefited from the hosts making errors at crucial times.

Roos sharp-shooter Hamish Gordon missed three first-half penalties to leave his side up just 6-3 at the break.

Gordon had earlier opened the scoring  and his side had a glut of chances after benefiting from a penalty count which was 14-5 at one stage.

The Roos finally got across the line seven minutes into the second half through prop Johnny Mafiti after working the ball through the forwards but the side then lost influential scrumhalf Jock Brownhill to a foot injury.

Youngster Pat Berryman, who had earlier helped the Roos colts to victory was thrown in the fray, but his first involvement was watching Bulldogs celebrate when No. 8 Peter Fitzsimmons waltzed across from the back of a scrum to cut the lead to 11-10.

The Roos again had plenty of ball and seemed almost certain to hang on but Bulldogs never dropped off and Nelson’s try against the run of play changed everything.

With the travelling fans in full voice, the outstanding defence of Bulldogs never wavered late, despite a yellow card for repeated infringements and the very best effort of a desperate Roos outfit.

The Roos, obviously, were left shattered when the full time whistle sounded but coach Dean Matthews felt his side couldn’t have done much more to keep its season alive.

“I think a lot of blokes played their best game of the year today but we just came up short, which is disappointing,” he said.

“There’s got to be a loser and unfortunately it was us but full credit to Bathurst. They were hungry and played for the full 80 minutes and snuck over the line.

“There’s always ‘ifs and buts’ and there’s probably a few things we could have done differently but we don’t get that chance now.”

While the season is over for the Roos, Bulldogs travel to Forbes next week for a preliminary final side against a Platypi side which lost in the final few minutes of Saturday’s major semi-final.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence but it’s Forbes in Forbes next and we haven’t beaten them all year,” Johnston said.

“We’re going to have a tough game but we’ve got the team which can give them a run for their money.”​