Feldt fears golden-point NRL GF finish
Sep 30, 2017 - 2:00 AM The prospect of a golden-point finish should excite North Queensland winger Kyle Feldt ahead of their NRL grand final clash against runaway favourites Melbourne.Instead it fills him with dread.
By rights Feldt should have only fond sudden-death memories.
Feldt's most memorable grand final moment is the last gasp try off a miraculous Michael Morgan flick that forced the 2015 decider against Brisbane into extra time.
History shows the Cowboys went on to become the first to win a title in golden-point extra time, sealing their maiden premiership off Johnathan Thurston's boot.
Yet the thought of going through it all over again sends a shiver down Feldt's spine thanks to his biggest grand final regret six years ago.
In 2011 Feldt had the chance to kick the winning conversion for North Queensland after the siren in the under-20s grand final but missed.
"The Warriors ended up winning in golden point. I was devastated," Feldt told PlayersVoice website.
"I remember Andrew Johns coming up to me after fulltime and saying 'kickers will always have that pressure, you just have to learn from it and move on'.
"It took a little while to get past that.
"In hindsight, that was a good learning experience for me - having to fight back from that feeling of letting people down. I reckon it ultimately made me a better player."
Feldt admits he still feared the worst when Thurston missed a sideline conversion to win the grand final after the winger's buzzer-beating try tied the scores in 2015.
"Johnno's conversion attempt hit the post and bounced back into the field of play. I thought to myself 'not again. I can't lose two grand finals like this'," Feldt said.
Suffice to say Feldt isn't looking forward to another nail-biting finish in Sunday's decider.
"All we have spoken about is that we have three wins to get to a grand final and one more to lift the trophy," he said.
"People wrote us off before we even made it into the finals. We've showed everyone we have the ability.
"The Storm are the best team in the comp and have been all year.
"It should be a great game. I just hope, for the sake of my ticker, it doesn't go to golden point again."
Then again Cowboys fans wouldn't say no to a tight finish.
The injury-hit North Queensland haven't been given a chance against dominant minor premiers Melbourne despite launching a giant-killing run since relying on other results to scrape into the top eight.
The Cowboys are expected to clear injury worries Ethan Lowe (eye), John Asiata (hand), Coen Hess (knee) and Antonio Winterstein (ribs) at Saturday's captain's run at Kogarah Oval.
Source: AAP
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