The Sydney Roosters have breathed new life into their hopes of a top four finish after a brilliant come-from-behind 30-14 win over Manly in a controversial and absorbing clash at the SFS on Sunday.
The Roosters trailed 14-0 less than 10 seconds before half time before putting on 30 unanswered points to clinch a much-needed victory and end a worrying three game losing streak in the process.
Roosters' centre Shaun Kenny-Dowall was the star for the home side, setting up a sensational try for Sam Perrett and grabbing a hat-trick for tries himself to take his tally to 18 for the season.
The Roosters are currently in sixth place and go into next weekend's final round just two points behind Gold Coast and with a real possibility of moving into the top four.
Brian Smith's side take on the struggling Cowboys next Saturday night and would need to win - also by a greater margin than the Warriors who face the Eels - and hope the Titans lose to the Tigers to climb into the top four just 12 months after finishing with the wooden-spoon.
Manly have now fallen to seventh place on the NRL ladder and could drop out of the finals unless they beat the Bulldogs in their last game next Sunday.
In a breath-taking and tough encounter in front of almost 19,000 fans, both sides had players placed on report for dangerous tackles while the Roosters turned the game in their favour with 20 points in just 10 minutes either side of half-time.
Manly received a boost before kick off with full-back Ben Farrar passing a late fitness test on his injured knee to return after missing the last three games and the No.1 played a key role in the opening try inside the first 5 minutes.
With the Sea Eagles on the attack just 20 metres out from the try line, Farrar burst onto a delightful inside pass from Steve Matai to break a tackle before offloading to Michael Robertson to score in the corner.
Jamie Lyon slotted the tricky sideline conversion to make it 6-0.
Manly was dominating the play in both defence and attack and it was no surprise when they extended their lead before the midway mark of the first half.
Farrar was again involved, showing exquisite quick hands to bat on a Kieran Foran pass to Matai, who dummied to his winger before stepping out of two tackles to score. Lyon was again spot on and the visitors were cruising at 12-0.
The Roosters were clearly rattled and when a Phil Graham fumble gave Manly another set from a line dropout, it should have been even worse for the Tricolours.
Matai easily won the race to Foran's perfectly weighted grubber kick into the in-goal area but the New Zealand international centre couldn't grab a hold of the ball and the opportunity went begging.
The Sea Eagles then did go further in front when Lyon slotted a penalty goal after prop Brent Kite was caught high in a tackle by Daniel Conn.
The Roosters forward was placed on report for the incident while a groggy Kite did courageously return to the field midway through the second half.
The home side needed a spark before the break to get themselves back in the contest and Kenny-Dowall duly delivered.
With the half-time hooter just seconds away, Kenny-Dowall received the ball 10 metres