They came home with a wet sail however the Newtown Jets have come up just short in going down by 30-24 to Mounties in their NSW Cup clash at GIO Stadium in Canberra.
Trailing 30-4 deep into the second half and looking to be on the end of a heavy defeat the Jets responded, crossing for four tries inside the final 10 minutes of the match to almost snatch a win and in bringing some respectability to the score-line.
It was a match played in frigid conditions at GIO Stadium in Canberra, with Mounties opening up a handy first half lead. They built on that advantage early in the second and despite the late flurry of tries by the Jets proved too good on the day.
The score had ballooned to 16-0 before the Jets managed to get on the board, a Corin Smith try off a Todd Murphy kick opening their account.
The conversion was wide of the mark and at 16-4 at half time the Jets had it all to do.
Running with the help of a strong breeze Mounties continued to pressure the Jets and three more tries, taking the score out to 30-4 pointed towards a dismal afternoon for the Newtown side.
However showing pride in their jersey they refused to lie down, a second try to Smith in the corner, followed by a four-pointer then a conversion from Murphy made it 30-14, before Sami Sauiluma backed up a Blake Ayshford line break to score under the posts.
Murphy converted in taking the score to 30-20 and while it seemed unlikely, the Jets were coming home strong and had given themselves a sniff although time was running out on their challenge.
Mounties switched back on, defended grimly for the next few minutes and while Dallas Wells scored in the last minute for the Jets their run had arrived too late as they came up just short.
The loss leaves the Jets now needing to string some wins together if they hope to play finals football during September.
Eighth before the start of the weekend they could potentially slip a few spots on the ladder and will be looking to recapture their best form in the weeks ahead.
NEWTOWN 24
Corin Smith 2, Dallas Wells, Sami Sauiluma, Todd Murphy tries, Murphy 2 goals
Lost to
MOUNTIES 30
