RUGBY LEAGUE
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mounties winger Bill Tupou scored four tries, but even that wasn't enough to stop the Illawarra Cutters soaring back into the NSW Cup top four with another come-from-behind win.
Tupou, contracted to the Raiders in the NRL, crossed three times before the break as the hosts opened up a 14-0 lead at Aubrey Keech Reserve on Saturday.
But the slow-starting Cutters, who have developed a knack of fighting their way back into games after giving up big leads, peeled off 24 unanswered points either side of half-time to stun the hosts 25-18.
"We had a bit of a joke about it on the bus on the way home," Cutters coach Scott Logan said.
"We probably should just be saying to them, 'Don't worry about the starts, just worry about whether we've got enough points in us at the end of the game'.
"It wasn't the start we wanted, but we ground our way back into game and got a couple of tries before the break.
"We were pretty optimistic if we could control the ball and get into their half we would score some points. That's how it panned out.
"The 20 minutes after half-time we arm wrestled pretty well, got into good field position, took our opportunities and scored a couple of tries."
The Cutters joined the Warriors on 19 competition points, but they sit above the New Zealand side in fourth spot due to their superior for-and-against record.
Wentworthville, Penrith and the Wests Tigers have broken away from the rest of the competition in the top three.