For Tamworth second grade coach Damian Henry it was more a question of when than if, the Magpies could conjure the try they needed to keep their season alive.
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"I was always confident we could get there, it was just a matter of when," Henry said.
"They just left it a bit longer than I would have hoped."
Trailing Robb from the second minute of their minor semi-final on Sunday, Adam Wallace was the late hero for the Magpies, his 62nd minute try and Liam Allan's subsequent conversion putting them in front 25-24.
"We just picked and drove for three or four phases, and then he just found a hole," Henry said.
From there they held on to set up a preliminary final match-up with Glen Innes.
Henry said it was a bit of a game of two halves.
They barely had any ball or territory in the first half with Robb virtually pinning them in their half, but defended well to limit the damage.
It was why he was "still confident" at half-time, despite being down 19-11.
The only real foray they'd had into their half, they scored, Allan also kicking a couple of penalties to keep them in touch.
The second half was then the complete opposite.
It was the Magpies that controlled the territory and possession, and Robb that had to defend well.
Henry said they did make "a couple of dumb errors that let them off the hook" but generally played some good finals rugby.
He couldn't go past breakaway James Bracken and second rower Jack Barker as their best. He also made special mention of props Sam White and Oliver McKenzie. A couple of injuries meant they had to play the whole game.
Looking ahead to Saturday, Henry said they are "quietly confident".
But they will need to start a lot better than they did in their most recent meeting. Then they were down 26-nil early into the second half before scoring three tries in the last 15 minutes to fall short by just five points in the end.
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