Every rugby league player has dreamed of kicking a field goal to win a game for their team. For some, those fantasies have turned into nightmares.
It will take a while for Greg Inglis to live down what happened in the 80th minute at the SCG on Sunday afternoon, with GI joining an infamous list of players to attempt a field goal when behind on the scoreboard
Whether it is through fatigue, desperation or simply poor mathematics, rugby league has seen some strange field goals kicked over the years. Here's a look at some of the best (or worst).
Jamie Soward- Round 3, 2013 Raiders v Dragons
Jamie Soward is no stranger to knocking over crucial field goals. In fact, the 31-year-old has 26 to his name in the NRL, including a preliminary final winning play against Wests Tigers in 2010. But in 2013, he kicked a one-pointer that still has Dragons fans shaking their heads. Trailing 6-4, the Dragons were afforded one last play before half-time via a line drop-out. The five-eighth caught the kick on halfway, advanced it five metres, and then let rip an almighty 45 metre missile that carried well past the posts. Sadly for his side, the point mattered little, as the Raiders ran away with it in the second half, winning 30-17.
Greg Inglis – Round 3, 2016 Rabbitohs v Dragons
Sunday's bizarre ending has been labelled a "brain-snap" by both Greg Inglis and his coach Michael Maguire. While it's easy to laugh it off in the aftermath, the 80th minute decision to attempt a field goal when trailing by two still has people asking the simple question: Why? The South Sydney superstar has knocked over some fairly important field goals throughout his career, including Melbourne's 23-16 grand final win in 2009. The Rabbitohs No.1 has also kicked a field goal at the SCG, breaking a 16-16 deadlock against the Tigers in golden point in 2012. More incredibly still, his second career field goal also came in golden point with the scores locked at 16-16. That was in Round 1, 2009 against, you guessed it, the Dragons. Inglis's other field goal for the Storm came in the 2008 qualifying final 18-15 loss to the Warriors, who went on to win their next match against the Roosters, who also kicked a field goal in a losing effort, 30-13.
Ali Beale – Round 2, 2010 Panthers v Cowboys (National Youth Competition)
This moment is another weird one, and unfortunately for Ali Beale, it also cost him his spot in the side. The Panthers fullback (and cousin of Wallabies star Kurtley Beale) had played a starring role in his side's Round 1 NYC win in 2010, but one week later attracted the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Down 38-4, and with the siren having already sounded, Beale attempted an audacious 45 metre field goal. To his credit it went over. But that's where the plaudits end. Beale's coach wasn't overly thrilled with the slight improvement in for-and-against, subsequently dropping Beale. Sometimes less is more in rugby league, and in this case, losing by 34 points was probably a better outcome than trimming it to a 33 point margin.
Terry Lamb – Round 14, 1992 Bulldogs v Knights
Oh Terry. The Bulldogs five-eighth will go down as one of the best exponents of the field goal in the history of rugby league. 'Baa' nailed 44 one-pointers in his illustrious 350-game career, but it's his 1992 decision to kick one point when trailing by two that will live longest in the memory banks of NRL fans; especially disgruntled supporters of the Bulldogs. On a Sunday afternoon at a packed Belmore Oval, the Bulldogs found themselves down by two points thanks to a 12 point haul to Newcastle's John Schuster. With time running out, the ball came back to Lamb, who inexplicably potted a long-range field goal to halve the deficit to 12-11. In his defence, it was a well struck drop goal, but sadly for his side, it didn't help them get the win. Lamb said in an interview two years later that he'd had a "blackout" and that he hadn't seen Schuster's conversion moments earlier.
