They’re called “clutch plays,” those plays in sport where – while under the most extreme pressure, most often with the whole match in the balance – the sportsperson nails it, pulls it off, makes the winning play to grab the gold and scarper!
And how funny I should say that because on Sunday (Monday, AEDT) last in Las Vegas, the quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes, pulled off what we don’t call in the trade, but should, a ‘cluster-clutch’.
That is, he pulled off a series of plays in overtime which, if he’d made just one bad error, would have seen the game go to the San Francisco 49ers. But . . . no, he performed 12 clutch plays in a row, leading a superb drive down the field, before we got to the final play.
There are three seconds to play in the first period of overtime. The Chiefs are behind, 22-19, and it is first and goal.
The time to strike is here. Everything has led to this. This is where the true greats separate themselves from the rest.
Bases are loaded. Two outs. Bottom of the ninth!
Patrick Mahomes and the Vince Lombardi Trophy.Credit: AP
Mahomes gives the call in the huddle. “Corn Dog”, on the third “hut!”
They line up. Mahomes is in what’s known as the shotgun position. He’s a few metres back from the centre to give himself an extra second of time and a bit more room.
Hut!
Wide receiver Mecole Hardman, out on the right, starts to move left, and the 49ers defence starts to move with him.
Hut!
Hardman turns. Goes back the other way. Mahomes shimmies, shakes, pauses. Hardman is open!
Mahomes throws!
Hardman catches.
Mecole Hardman and Patrick Mahomes celebrate.Credit: Getty
Touchdown!
Chiefs win, 25-22 and Mahomes’ legend as master of the clutch play grows.
It all begs the question. What are the best clutch plays in Australian sporting history? With the help of my favourite sports historian and yours, Geoff Armstrong, I have put together this list.
Can we start with Johnathan Thurston in the 2015 NRL grand final, when his North Queensland Cowboys played the Broncos? You will remember, after a stunning try in the corner just as the siren sounded on full-time, Thurston’s conversion kick hit the sticks to send it to extra time. Two minutes in, the ball comes to Thurston on the fly. He swivels, he steadies, he drops the pill onto his foot and kicks. It wobbles, but . . . goes through! Cowboys win 17-16!
Rugby’s previous answer to that was in the semi-final of the World Cup in 1999 at Twickenham against the Springboks, Steve Larkham – who hadn’t kicked a field goal in his life – dropped the ball onto his boot, from about 45 metres out, and sent it through to win the match!
Also in league, there is Andrew Johns masterminding Darren Albert going over to win the 1997 grand final.
Yes, we could also go to John Aloisi’s shoot-out strike that sent the Socceroos to the 2006 World Cup, but that was surely superseded by the Courtnee Vine penalty against France in the World Cup of last year, which was the greatest penalty shootout seen.
Going much further back, there is Wallabies captain Trevor Allan’s tackle of England winger David Swarbrick at Twickenham in 1948, which was as good as Gregan’s tackle on Jeff Wilson that stopped him from scoring and allowed the Wallabies to win the 1995 Bledisloe Cup.
Kel Nagle after winning the 1960 British Open.
Golf’s best was Kel Nagle’s eight-foot putt at the ‘Road Hole’, the 71st hole in the 1960 centenary British Open at St Andrews – which Armstrong regards as the greatest putt by an Australian golfer. Nagle then parred the last to beat the great Arnold Palmer by one stroke.
In the Olympics, do we count Cathy Freeman running the perfect race to win the 400m final at Sydney 2000, and Kieren Perkins winning the 1500m from Lane 8 in the 1996 Olympics? I think not. They were both magnificent moments – just as was Betty Cuthbert overtaking England’s Betty Moore in the last leg of the 4×110 yard relay at the 1962 British Empire & Commonwealth Games – but don’t quite count as a “clutch play” in the sense that I use it.
Far more to the point was Matthew Mitcham’s final dive in the 2008 Olympics final. With one dive to go, Mitcham needed 107 points to beat the Chinese diver Zhou Luxin. He bounced, he soared, he NAILED it, getting four perfect 10 scores from judges, pulling out the big one at the very moment he needed it.
Aussie Rules. Who can go past Leaping Leo Barry’s last-second mark to set up the win in the 2005 AFL grand final?
In cricket, we’d have to go with Michael Bevan’s last-ball boundary to beat the Windies in a one-day international.
Friends?
This is not comprehensive. And I look forward to your own contributions. Use the comments section to tell us your favourite clutch plays.
Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
