Reds flyhalf Harry McLaughlin-Phillips played a frontline role in Wests beating premiers Bond University 40-38 to get their season back on track in the Sumo Energy Hospital Cup.
McLaughlin-Phillips made the sharp diagonal run to set up the fast ruck from which flanker Joe Fabish scored the decisive try with five minutes to play at Sci-Fleet Stadium on Saturday.
McLaughlin-Phillips then knocked over the conversion to seal the win after the Bulldogs pulled back a 38-26 deficit over the closing 20 minutes.
When asked what confidence the win gave his side, McLaughlin-Phillips said:
"They're a quality outfit. Last time we played them we lost 34-0 so to be able to put a performance in and beat them here at home, yeah, it's pretty cool," McLaughlin-Phillips said.
The crowd at "The Kennel" was on cloud nine following the late pick-and-go try for openside Fabish. McLaughlin-Phillips went five-for-six with the boot. They proved to be vital points as the Bulldogs defended a late rolling maul attempt by the Bull Sharks.
Both sides squandered early opportunities as the contest struggled to find a rhythm in the opening 10 minutes.
The gusty wind caused issues for the Bond back three. A forced offload gave Wests an avenue to work themselves up the field. Once entrenched inside the five, it was tighthead prop Jone Tiko firing over for the first try, which went unconverted to make it 5-0.
Bond responded immediately. They surgically worked phases to create a three-on-two overlap on the left-hand side. Flyhalf Luke Depiazzi delivered a silky cut-out pass to put in Deon Evans-Ao for his first of his two tries. Scores were level at 5-5.
Evans-Ao played a monumental part in the Bull Sharks’ second try. The winger's awareness near the touchline allowed him to produce a crucial offload to flanker Wilson Parata, who walked over untouched for a 12-5 lead.
The response was equally swift. Player-of-the-match contender Netanti Baleisomosomo charged over with a surge off a back of the lineout move to level scores again at 12-12.
The big No.8 scored another before the main break. He took matters into his own hands with a tap and went 5m to muscle his way over to make it 21-21. This followed opposing No.8 Kobe Walters, placing the ball over the line, following a dominant scrum 5m out.
It was an instinctive play by Evans-Ao to start the scoring in the second half. A beautiful sleight-of-hand tap-back before heading into touch found teammate Heremaia Murray, who linked up to put reserve hooker Nik Mitchell over.
Exiting off restarts continued to haunt the Bull Sharks. It was tackling machine Fabish, who burrowed over from a pick-and-go in around the ruck with top-tier leg speed to tie the scores at 26-all with 30 minutes to play.
The Bull Sharks scored two quick tries to take control of proceedings. Wingers Murray and Evans-Ao combined again to capitalise on loose defence out wide for Evans-Ao to pick up his second of the afternoon.
Evans-Ao continued to fill the stat sheet, this time putting openside flanker Kohan Herbert in down the blindside. This put Bond up 38-26.
Wests began to play with greater freedom. The rewards were immediate.
After Bond were reduced to 14 men for a deliberate knock down by Murray, tight five forward Dante Santos, stayed low and powered over. This cut the deficit to five points when McLaughlin-Phillips nailed the conversion to make it 38-33.
It set up a tense last 18 minutes at Sci-Fleet Stadium and the Fabish thrill for the home crowd.
Post-game, McLaughlin-Phillips said the team always felt they were going to find a way late in the game.
“Sometimes we make mistakes that put us in a hard place but we sort of knew that we’d always come back from it," he said.
In other matches, Brothers and University of Queensland fought out a 38-all draw to add to their storied history. Souths rallied to beat GPS 38-22 and Easts shaded Sunnybank 33-32.
