TOP 10 COMEBACKS

1. Canterbury, 1998 preliminary final
The chances of Canterbury progressing to the 1998 grand final looked hopeless when they trailed Parramatta 18-2 approaching the 70-minute mark of the preliminary final at the Sydney Football Stadium. But with nothing to lose the Bulldogs went for broke, charging back into the contest with three rapid-fire tries. The third, scored by centre Willie Talau made it 18-16 and left goalkicker Daryl Halligan with a high-pressure conversion attempt from the sideline. He landed the goal, sending the Bulldogs into extra-time with a surge of adrenaline. They won 32-20.

Queensland, 1994 ©Action Photographics

2. Queensland, State of Origin Game 2, 1994
The Maroons looked destined to go down 1-0 in the 1994 Origin series when they stared at a 12-4 deficit in the dying stages of the opening game at the Sydney Football Stadium and even through a converted try to winger Willie Carne brought them close, it appeared that time would still beat them. But on a final desperate play, Maroons replacement Mark Coyne conjured a miracle match-winning try after 10 players had handled.

3. Melbourne, 1999 grand final
Long-suffering Dragons supporters had endured 20 long winters since their once mighty club had last won a premiership but the long drought looked set to break in 1999 when a world record crowd watched St George Illawarra charge to a 14-0 halftime lead. No-one counted on a comeback by the brash newcomers from Victoria but over the next 40 minutes the Melbourne Storm surged. Then, the unthinkable happened, video referee Chris Ward awarded the Storm a penalty try after winger Craig Smith was taken high in the Dragons’ in-goal. The conversion by Matt Geyer put Melbourne in front for the first time in the game, the Storm hanging on to win 20-18.

4. Australia, second Ashes Test, 2003
Great Britain were on track to level the 2003 Ashes when they raced to a 20-8 lead early in the second Test at Hull but a double-strike by Australia on either side of the halftime break brought them to within two points of the lead. A penalty goal to Australian second-rower Craig Fitzgibbon levelled the scores with 11 minutes remaining and then halfback Brett Kimmorley kicked the Kangaroos ahead with a field goal. A further penalty goal to Fitzgibbon sealed a 23-20 victory that Australian captain Darren Lockyer rated “one of the highlights of my career”.

5. North Queensland, 1998
The North Queensland Cowboys were headed for a monumental hiding at Penrith Football Stadium in 1998 when they went to halftime 26-0 behind. The Panthers had cut their defence to ribbons in the first 40 minutes, scoring five tries. But the second half told a completely different story. A try gave the Cowboys momentum which became unstoppable and soon they had overhauled the Panthers to win 36-28. Penrith coach Royce Simmons reacted by calling an 8am training session the morning after the game and sent his team on a grueling six-kilometre run.

6. Queensland, State of Origin 1981
After suffering a humiliating defeat in the first State of Origin game in 1980, New South Wales were set for revenge in 1981 and charged to a 15-0 lead by halftime. Winger Eric Grothe scored two tries, one after a run of 90 metres, while centre Mick Cronin scored a third and landed three goals. After halftime, the Lang Park crowd found its voice as Mal Meninga, Chris Close and Wally Lewis helped engineer a remarkable fightback. The Maroons stormed home to win 22-15.

7. Canberra, 1989 grand final
Canberra’s comeback to win the grand final of 1989 is etched into the game’s folklore. Fighting back from a 12-2 deficit at halftime, the Raiders drew level with 90 seconds left on the clock after veteran winger John Ferguson found his way through a wall of Balmain defenders to score. An extra-time field goal by five-eighth Chris O’Sullivan was followed by a barn-storming try to replacement forward Steve Jackson, lifting the Raiders to a 19-14 victory.

8. St George Illawarra, 2004
Hundreds of St George Illawarra supporters who had been watching their team receive a mauling at the hands of Manly in a match at Oki Jubilee Stadium late in the 2004 season did not hang around to see their team’s greatest comeback victory. From a 34-10 deficit midway through the second half, Nathan Brown’s Dragons scored 26 points without reply to claim a stunning victory.

9. Souths, 1955
Souths’ effort to win the premiership of 1955 was the comeback to end all comebacks. From a position of equal second last at the halfway mark of the competition, the Rabbitohs won 11 games straight to take out the title. Along the way fullback Clive Churchill kicked a goal from the sideline, despite the pain of a broken arm, to keep the run alive. Souths came from behind to win their last five games, including their 12-11 defeat of Manly in the grand final.

10. Newtown, 1926
A Newtown team, reduced to 12 men after prop Charlie Pendergast was forced from the field in the opening 10 minutes, fashioned an astonishing comeback win in 1926 after trailing South Sydney 18-0 at halftime. The Rabbitohs were the heavyweights of the competition while Newtown had finished last for the previous two seasons. But in the second half, Newtown somehow picked themselves up to score an incredible 25-24 win.