Easts No.9 Jack Grant snuck through a desperate Gordon defensive line in the final play of the match to steal victory for Eastern Suburbs at Chatswood Oval. 

Grant, the competition’s leading try scorer, scooted from the base of an attacking five metre scrum but looked to have tripped over his own feet in front of the goal posts. 

The incredibly nimble No.9 somehow got back to his feet instantaneously though and dived over to score the match winner. 

Gordon looked to have the match wrapped up with 20 minutes remaining, leading 25-12 following a red card to Easts prop Ofa Fainga’anaku for an illegal tackle. 

But with their season on the line, Easts rallied late, scoring first through some individual brilliance from Jack Maddocks, then through Grant to steal the win. 

The result means Easts will claim the final spot in the playoffs if they beat Eastwood next weekend. 

If they don’t and Gordon claim a bonus point win over Western Sydney, the Stags will leapfrog Easts into the finals. 

Incredibly, Easts’ escape wasn’t the most remarkable finish to a match in round 17. 

Manly were on the wrong end of a refereeing blunder that helped West Harbour claim a remarkable 42-42 draw at Manly Oval. 

Needing a win, or a draw as it turned out, to guarantee their spot in the finals, Manly led 42-28 with five minutes remaining. 

Pirates centre Tyler Fisher scored his second try of the afternoon to reduce the deficit to seven points and continued to attack in the final minutes. 

After retrieving a kick near his goal line, Manly flyhalf James Ohmsen ran the ball dead in what should have been the final play of the game. 

But the Pirates were awarded a penalty on the five metre line and went on to score a converted try to level the scores. 

It appears as though the official awarded the penalty by mistake, confusing the law that penalises a player for intentionally throwing the ball over the dead ball line, rather than running it out. 

Fortunately for Marlins fans though, the draw is enough to secure Manly’s spot in the playoffs, despite blowing a 42-21 lead. 

With a bye in round 18, the Marlins will have two weeks to prepare for a must win playoff game against Warringah, Eastwood or Sydney Uni on the opening weekend of the finals. 

In the rounds other matches, Sydney Uni kept their minor premiership hopes alive with an impressive 66-17 win over fourth placed Northern Suburbs. 

In a warning to the remainder of the competition, the defending premiers scored 10 tries, with hooker Tom Horton, flyhalf Ben Hughes and winger Harry Potter all claiming doubles. 

Elsewhere, Warringah scored four unanswered tries to beat Western Sydney 34-17 after trailing 14-7 early. 

While at TG Millner, Eastwood scored five tries in a fairly comfortable 33-21 win over Southern Districts.