Blues halfback Jayden Sargent proved the hero after he slotted an 88^th minute field goal to give his side the lead after they had relinquished it in the dying stages of normal time.

The win sets up a Group 3 grand final qualifier with Port City on Sunday for the right to progress as the first team into this year’s grand final.

It came after Wingham halfback Danny Russell had landed two field goals of his own inside the final eight minutes.

One of those put his side in front 15-14 before Wauchope centre Sam Watts landed a pressure penalty goal with two minutes left of regulation time to put the Blues back in front.

After the restart, the Tigers regained possession before Russell kept his cool and took the match into overtime with his second field goal.

Wauchope coach Anthony Boyd described the win as “ugly” and the match punctuated by penalties as “frustrating”.

“That’s one thing we need to address because with frustration, you can’t let those things get to your footy side,” Boyd said.

“The ref makes a call and we’ve got to react to it and defend our errors so it’s something we’ll address during the week.

“It was very stop-start and there was no real flow in the game and it probably suited them more than us because we like playing up fast, tempo footy.”

Englishman Liam Quinn was again one of the Blues best, while Tupara Tupara and Kobi Hugen offered plenty of punch off the bench.

“Liam does it week in, week out,” Boyd said.

“He’s no fusses, no frills, goes about his business and defends outstandingly. His work rate is unbelievable.”

Tupara and Hugen laid the platform through the middle of the field especially in extra-time.

“They were steamrolling through the middle and getting us in good field position,” Boyd said.

“(I wanted them to) give us that impact; that’s what they offer our footy side so when I knew we were going to (extra-time) I put them on and said open your wheels up.”

With Ison sidelined during the second half, Boyd was impressed with Sargent’s ability to direct his side around the park.

“He’s a good young kid and I’ve got a lot of time for him; he’s a big part of our side,” the coach said.

Boyd was satisfied their work on the training field for field goals had paid off.

“We’ve been working on that since we had the draw with Wingham and we nearly finish on a field goal set every session now in case we do get in that situation again,” he said.

“It’s paid off at the weekend so we’re very happy with the boys effort, it was outstanding.”

In the earlier matches, Wauchope progressed to a ladies league tag clash also against Port City after a 10-4 win over Old Bar.

The Breakers progressed to a reserve grade clash with Port Sharks following a 20-6 win over Wauchope while Old Bar proved too good for Macleay Valley in the under-18.5 grade.

The Pirates cruised to a 52-6 win.