They might have given coach Dan Martin a few more grey hairs but Gunnedah will play for a second straight home grand final in two weeks after holding on to beat Narrabri in a heart-stopping final round clash on Saturday.
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There were only two points in it in the end, and a few hairy moments in the closing stages, but the 17-15 win was enough for the Red Devils to finish second and clinch a qualifying final showdown with Pirates.
And enough for the Blue Boars to sneak into fourth, edging out Quirindi on wins after they both finished equal on points.
The Red Devils likewise finished equal with Moree on points but had had one more win.
"That's something we talked about over the last couple of weeks leading into this game," Martin said.
"We said guys we just have to win, we knew a win would be more than enough."
Early on it was looking good. Tries to wingers Carter McIlveen and Emori Waqavulagi put them up 10-nil inside the first 20 minutes.
But by midway through the second half that lead had evaporated to a 15-10 deficit.
However, Martin said he wasn't too "panicked" at that point.
He felt like they had the capability to score more points.
They'd "crossed the chalk" a number of times only to be denied by either getting held up or the ball being knocked out.
"I knew we had points in us. It was just a matter of being composed and the points would have come," he said.
They were and eventually scored, Waqavulagi crossing for his second to put them ahead 17-15 and setting up an edge of your seats final 15 minutes.
"They made sure I was going greyer anyway," Martin joked.
"We tried to give the game back with knock-ons, and a couple of boys slipped over defensively too when they were going to tackle."
But they were able to keep the Blue Boars out.
Martin noted the set pieces as a strong aspect for them. They were able to turn over a bit of lineout ball, while the scrum was, he thought, pretty dominant most of the game.
And while he would have preferred it to have been a bit more comfortable, he said they probably needed a win like that for a bit of "belief" and "confidence in each other" after their previous round loss to Pirates.
He was scathing of their commitment to training after the Pirates. But that has picked up over the last couple of weeks.
"The guys have responded since we lost over at Pirates because they know we're a better team than what we produced there," he said.
The Red Devils women will also contest the qualifying final after finishing second behind Narrabri.
