The Griffith Waratah Tigers have returned to the winner's circle with a hard-fought 20-16 win over rivals the Griffith Black and White Panthers at EW Moore Oval on Sunday.
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It was easy to tell it had been close to two months since the reigning premiers had sung their song by the way they bellowed it out after the game.
Captain Chris Hanneman was elated to finally notch up a win - the side's second of the season.
"It feels good - it feels really good," Hanneman said.
It's been a long time coming and finally we held on.
- Chris Hanneman
"It's been a long time coming and finally we held on."
The win didn't come easily. though.
The match was as rough as it was scrappy as both sides leaked handling errors and penalties.
Both sides also lost players in the contest with the Black and Whites the hardest hit.
Panthers Andrew Hoggart and Sonny Tupu left the field in the first half with Tupu making a return in the second.
Likewise, Waratah Emori Rauluni came off only to return later on while Black and White Veti Mataa limped from the field midway through the second stanza.
Mitchell Monaghan - who was one of the Waratahs’ best - nabbed the first try of the day before the similarly impressive Andrew Lavaka levelled the score at 6-6.
James Girdler was next to go over to give the Tahs a four-point half-time lead.
Just minutes into the second half, the Black and Whites hit the lead for the first time as Mosese Butukoro crossed and Kierren Williams knocked over the extras.
Knock-ons and penalties crept back into the game but neither side could capitalise.
That was until – with 20 minutes to go – the Waratahs were awarded three penalties in a row and Luke Farmer levelled the score with a penalty goal.
The Black and Whites hit back soon after when a brilliant individual effort from Kelvin Simpson gave the home side a four-point buffer.
Five minutes later, a penalty for offside gave the Black and Whites the chance to go up by six points but the penalty shot was missed.
With seven minutes remaining, Niko Lelei burrowed over before Farmer nailed the conversion to hand the Waratahs the lead.
Another penalty goal saw the Waratahs hold on to victory. The Waratahs still have a way to go but Hanneman thought the win would lead to more.
“I think all we needed was a little confidence and now we've done it [won] once, it'll be a lot easier,” he said.
