They're still alive, but they need a helping hand. A big one.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The West Belconnen Warriors' 24-10 victory over the Belconnen Sharks at O'Connor on Saturday has kept their season alive with two rounds remaining of the Canberra Raiders Cup.
They're on 18 competition points, three behind the fourth-placed Queanbeyan Kangaroos - who only need to win one of their remaining games to seal their spot in the top-four.
The Kangaroos face ladder-leading Tuggeranong and then the seventh-placed Sharks, while the Warriors need to beat Yass and Woden Valley.
It's why Warriors coach Adam Peters was so disappointed with their loss to the Kangaroos a couple of weeks ago.
A win then and their fate would lie in their own hands.
"We're still alive, we just need a couple of other sides to do us a favour," Peters said.
"We win both our games against Yass and Rams and [the Kangaroos] lose both of theirs and we're in, they're out.
"That's why it was so disappointing two weeks ago when we lost to them.
"We were down 26-6 and we ended up getting beaten 32-26. The importance of that game was unbelievable."
Peters has found himself a handy ball-playing prop in Brent Crisp.
The usual half has a foot injury so was used off the bench through the middle instead.
He's certainly big enough and his introduction to the game got the Warriors' ball rolling as he laid off their first try.
Depending on how his foot injury goes, Crisp might remain as a bookend next week as well.
Peters was full of praise for his middles, especially Mitchell Shaw and Bayley Loughhead, for their efforts against the bigger Belconnen pack.
"[Crisp] actually changed the game when he came on. He laid on the first try and had a lot of aggression and we got a bit more physical in the middle," Peters said.
"He was putting shots on, big carries - he had a big collision with Sam Mataora off the kick off. He bee-lined him and just charged in."
The Kangaroos were emphatic 54-0 victors over the Gungahlin Bulls to all-but-wrap-up their finals berth, while the Queanbeyan Blues leapfrogged the Goulburn Bulldogs into second on the ladder with their 34-26 victory at Seiffert Oval.
The Tuggeranong Bushrangers edged closer to sealing the minor premiership with their 46-4 flogging of the Magpies, needing just one more win to do so.
Bushrangers coach Jarrod Teka is hoping for some injured players back next week, including former Canberra Raider Drury Low (knee).
"We've got one hand on it [the minor premiership], but we've got two tough opponents coming to take that away from us," Teka said.
"Especially the Blues [in the last round], who beat Goulburn today. We've got Roos next week ... bit of a tough run coming into the semis."
AT A GLANCE
West Belconnen Warriors 24 (T Vaughan 2, R Roberts, M Shaw tries; R Roberts 4 goals) bt Belconnen United Sharks 10 (M Woolnough, I Bell tries; T Aroha-Tuinauvai goal)
Queanbeyan Kangaroos 54 bt Gungahlin Bulls 0
Tuggeranong Bushrangers 46 (M Brophy 2, W Alexander 2, J Kennedy, T Eldridge, M O'Malveney, N Low tries; J Mitchell 7 goals) bt Yass Magpies 4
Queanbeyan Blues 34 (T Campese, M Cole, S Fetuani, Z Patch, J Stuckey, M Parsons tries; T Campese 5 goals) bt Goulburn Workers Bulldogs 26 (N Cornish, S Cummins, A Robens, D Rota, L Tauoqooqo tries; C Hart 3 goals)