Aidan Sezer was the hero for the Wests Tigers with his late field goal securing a one-point win over the Parramatta Eels in an instant classic on Easter Monday.
The traditional Easter Monday clash was predicted by many to be extremely tight with the more favourable Eels missing stars Mitch Moses and Bryce Cartwright.
The Tigers dominated the opening ten minutes of the game with a flurry of damaging runs from a motivated forward pack.
Justin Olam was the beneficiary of the strong start as he trolled over the first try in the third minute to give the Tigers a deserved lead.
Despite the early dominance, the visitors were unable to extend the lead further and were forced onto the backfoot as the first half began to progress.
Maika Sivo answered back for the Eels in what would be the last try of the half shortly before Clint Gutherson’s penalty goal ensured the score would be level going into the break.
The Parramatta captain was on the receiving end of a line break from J’maine Hopgood as he sailed through untouched to give his side the lead in the 44th minute.
Olam fired back for the Tigers on the hour mark after his side put in a shift on the defensive end close to their own line.
With the game hanging in the balance, the Tigers’ chance of a second win began to dwindle until a moment of brilliance from young star Lachlan Galvin.
After being sent to the sin bin early in the second half, the 18-year-old broke through the line and set up Jahream Bula for a game-tying try in the 68th minute.
With under ten minutes remaining and the game now level, both sides began to try and set up a chance for a field goal opportunity.
The Tigers were the first to strike as Aidan Seizer hit a field goal with a sea of Parramatta defenders closing in.
Parramatta were gifted a golden opportunity to steal the win at the buzzer as they were awarded a penalty from the resulting kickoff.
Gutherson stepped up from just over the halfway line and narrowly missed his kick to the left, giving the Tigers a famous win.