Group 4: Kootingal-Moonbi Roosters snare comeback win over Dungowan Cowboys to book finals spot

Following their razor-thin 19-12 victory, Mark Sheppard and his Roosters were over the moon.

"It's a great feeling," Sheppard said.

"The boys had to dig deep today. We've had a few hiccups during the week with a few injuries ... that kind of adversity makes these boys - they stuck solid."

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The Cowboys, meanwhile, were shattered.

Though they are only out of finals if and when Werris Creek beat Narrabri tomorrow, captain-coach Brett Jarrett said they had themselves to blame for the narrow loss.

"Kooty were hard fought today, we knew they were going to be tough opposition here with a finals berth on the line," Jarrett said.

"We got off to a good start but ... we had a lot of possession and didn't execute real well."

Like their match against North Tamworth the week before, Dungowan got out to an early lead (this time 8-0) after 15 minutes.

But a piece of brilliance from Leroy Livermore allowed Ethan Parry to cross for Kootingal-Moonbi's first try.

They added a second soon after, and thanks to a field goal from halfback Jordan Sharpe on the stroke of half time, led 13-8 at the break.

Dungowan controlled possession for most of the second half, but couldn't break through the Roosters' defence until late in the piece when Trent Taylor crossed.

However, Mitch Doring, whose boot is usually reliable, had an off day and missed all three of his conversion attempts. Big man Jacko Brookman then crossed for Kootingal-Moonbi with two minutes left on the clock to put the game out of reach for the Cowboys.

At the end of the fiery clash, which featured two sin-binnings, Sheppard was quick to praise the Roosters for a scintillating match.

"Dungowan are great opposition, great club," he said.

"They stuck it to us today, a lot of great players in their club and they showed that right through the grades today."

Now that they have booked a finals spot, Sheppard had a message for their prospective opponents.

"We've always respected every club in Group 4. You've got to do that, it's a tight competition," he said.

"But look out, we're in there now and we're going to have a fair crack at it."

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