Sunday's clash against the Ipswich Jets at Davies Park had the makings of a statement win and for a good portion of the game, it looked exactly like one.
The Magpies came out firing. Maika Poese broke the line inside seven minutes to open the scoring, Thomas Duffy converting. Preston Riki added another straight through the middle in the 16th, then Kienan Tempest crossed in the 24th to have the Magpies out to an 18-0 lead. The nest was alive, the Jets were rattled, and Souths looked every bit the side ready to make a statement.
Then the game turned.
Four unanswered tries swung the momentum entirely, with the Jets reeling off a stunning comeback to lead 18-28. The Magpies refused to roll over. Callum Eggerling broke through in the 70th minute, Duffy converting to make it 24-28, before Kienan Tempest crossed for his second of the afternoon to level the scores. Duffy's boot found the mark making it 30-28 and with minutes remaining, the Magpies were on the verge of a gritty, hard-fought win.
Then came the gut punch.
With the clock showing 78 minutes, Treymain Spry found the line for the Jets after back to back errors from the Magpies. The conversion was missed, but it didn't matter. 30-32. Full time.
After clawing back from ten points down and daring to dream in the final minutes, the Magpies were denied in the cruellest of fashions. A win that was so nearly theirs, snatched away with two minutes on the clock.
Head Coach Karmichael Hunt made mention to the hard work with a reminder, the effort and the fight are there. The belief is there. The result will come.