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brah!” smiles Prince.
    â€œGood hit up, D!” says Reed.
    â€œWelcome to first grade, D!” says Thaiday.
    The announcer comes over the speaker. “Try to the Broncos number seventeen, Deadly D!”
    The crowd erupts again as they see the replay on the big screen. Prince kicks the conversion and it’s now 16 points to 12. Panthers still in front.

Chapter 29
    Three-Person Piggyback
    Five minutes to go. The Panthers captain is telling his team to keep us out of their half. They kick to us and the ball is coming in my direction. I catch it safely and run as fast as I can. This time four defenders are hanging off me. Someone tackles me around the legs and I go crashing to the ground. I play the ball and our forwards run it up hard. Prince kicks on the last tackle and the Panthers have it deep in their own half.
    Three minutes to go.
    The Panthers pass it this way, they pass it that way. They need a converted try to steal the game. Theirforwards make some good ground and then their halfback does something amazing. He chip kicks over our heads and then catches it. He steps one Broncos player, and another. He dummies once, then dummies twice before passing it to his winger.
    The winger flies down the side of the ground. Reed is chasing him. The try-line is approaching. The winger dives to score. Reed lunges and drags his ankles into touch. Wait! No way! His arm is outstretched, reaching for the try-line. The Panthers player grounds the ball on the white line! But has he grounded the ball before going into touch? It’s way too hard to tell.
    The referee calls time off and says, “We’ll go to the video.”
    There is a nervous wait. We huddle together, talking about what we will do if it is a no-try. The whole crowd sits frozen. Justice’s eyes are open wide, watching for the result. A little spinner appears in the middle of the big screen … NO-TRY comes up in big red letters. The crowd is on the edge of their seats.
    One minute to go.
    The Broncos take the twenty-metre tap and advance the ball upfield. The first tackle is made. The ball is played and passed to Corey Parker who makes twelve easy metres. This time the ball is passed out wide. Our second rower throws a pass to our inside centre, who runs to halfway.
    â€œThird tackle!” screams the referee. My mouth is dry and the sweat is stinging my eyes.
    Justin Hodges moves to pass from dummy half but is tackled by a wall of Panthers players. The crowd is booing, the Panthers must be offside.
    As the ball is played, Josh McGuire signals, “You and me D, get ready.”
    McGuire gets the ball and I follow on his outside shoulder. What’ll it be, a tricky pass to me or will he dummy and run? Just as I expected, he holds the ball as he’s tackled.
    Twenty seconds to go. We’re inside the Panthers half.
    â€œFourth tackle!” yells the referee. The ball is passed to Prince. The Panthers are closing in on him. It’s too late to kick. With a quick look around, I see I’m the only player he can pass to.
    â€œIt all yours brah, don’t waste it,” he says. I sprint towards the corner of the field. My legs are like pistons, pumping up and down. The more space I have, the faster they move.
    Ten seconds to go.
    I fend off one Panthers player, then another. The rest are chasing me. I am ten metres out. They can’t catch me, the crowd is out of their seats, when WHACK! I am hit from behind. I try to keep my balance. If I get tackled, the game is over and we lose. Whoever it is, they are hanging on tight. I am piggy-backing the Panthers centre, winger and halfback. They pull me to the left and they pull me to the right trying to drag me down.
    The full-time siren blares from the stadium speakers, and I’m three metres out.
    I struggle to keep upright and moving forward. My knees are trembling under the weight of the three Panthers players. One more step and I will score. I dive for the try-line.