By Jon Geddes

THE Warringah Rats rose to the occasion for teammate Tyson Davis with another thrilling come from behind 27-22 win over Eastern Suburbs in what was his 150th grade game for the club at Narrabeen on Saturday.

That milestone for the No.12, who is the heart of the Warringah backline, provided the players around him with extra incentive.

Skipper Ben Marr revealed the players had spoken about doing it for Davis in the lead-up to Saturday’s clash.

“Tyson has been such an outstanding stalwart for this club and this team for many years,” Marr told Rugby News after the game.

“It is  a credit to him, he is so professional about it, prepares himself really well and is still in a really good head space.            

“I am really proud of him getting this many games and I’m proud we could get the win for him.”

 Coach Josh Holmes played alongside Davis in Warringah’s emotional 2017 premiership win.

“Obviously the boys wanted to play well and get a win for a guy like Tyson who has been here for a long time – 150 games shows great dedication to your club,” Holmes said.

“I take my hat off to him because he prepares like a professional and that is why he is still playing really good footy at this level in first grade.”

A GAME  TO REMEMBER

THE spirited fightback victory over a gutsy Easts outfit, which saw Warringah move to top of the table, was a fitting way for Davis to celebrate a momentous moment in his career.

The Rats were trailing 22-10 with 16 minutes left on the clock before racing in three tries over the following six minutes to secure their win.

“That game was true Rats’ spirit,” Davis said.

Knowing the team wanted to do for him made it even more memorable.

“We work as a really tight-knit group – and work for each other out there,” he said. “They did it for me and I did it for them.”

SHIELD WARRIOR

DAVIS has become one of the competition’s great warriors over the past decade and his amazing record proves that.

He has now played 138 games in first grade, 10 in the seconds and two in thirds since his debut in 2014 as an 18-year-old fresh out of school.

All those lower grade appearances were in his first season, apart from one in the seconds in 2017 when he was returning from injury.

Against Easts, Davis was again a rock in mid-field in both attack and defence.

“It’s an honour to turn up every week and wear that first grade jersey,” he said.

In a fitting and emotional moment before the game, Davis’s jersey was presented to him by his greatest supporters –  wife Cas, mum Anita and dad Rick.    

“Mum pretty much hasn’t missed a game of rugby I’ve played since I was five-years old,” he said.

COMEBACK KINGS

SATURDAY’S battle was the second week in a row the Rats have clawed their way to victory after being well behind on the scoreboard as fulltime rapidly approached.

The week before they trailed Sydney University 26-10 with 10 minutes to play before scoring a 29-26 win.

Davis said it was those sorts of victories that build character.

“In the grand final it takes 80 minute performances,” he said. “So getting these wins under the belt and grinding out for 80 minutes is good.”

Davis said he would rather those kind of wins as opposed to sailing through the early rounds and getting complacent.

Holmes said the win again the team just don’t give up.

“We scored some really good tries and got a bonus point so I am happy with the boys,” he said.

And Marr said his team hasn’t been making it easy over the past two weeks.

“We are confident in ourselves and know we can get over the top of teams because we are fit,” Marr said. “And we trust each other to make the right play at the big 50-50s in the game.”