Trailing 22-14 with 11 minutes to play, Southcity blasted on two late tries before five-eighth Nathan Rose nailed a sideline conversion to get the Bulls home 24-22.

As Southcity celebrated later, Young captain-coach Luke Branighan could only fume as he took stock of the Cherrypickers stunning loss.

In a drama-charged finish, Branighan was ordered from the field by referee Jake White following an incident in the 68th minute.

The Daily Advertiser understands Branighan was sin-binned because of his reaction to White's decision to award an "obstruction" penalty to Southcity right on the Bulls line.

With Branighan sin-binned, and forced to cool his heels in the dressing for 10 critical minutes, the Bulls struck for their two telling tries - and set up Rose to become an instant hero.

Barely a minute after Rose's winning kick, the siren sounded, sending Branighan storming into the Young dressing room to obviously reflect on White's decision.

Speaking to The Daily Advertiser later, Branighan chose his words carefully.

"I don't know what it (sin-binning) was for," Branighan said.

"All I know is it ruined a good game."

For Young, the fateful last 13 minutes of yesterday's game were an absolute football nightmare.

Left a man down, the Cherrypickers subsequently blew an eight-point lead as the Bulls came with a late surge.

Seizing the opportunity, Southcity whipped up two stylish tries to sink the Cherrypickers and retain second place behind Albury on the Group Nine table.

Quick and decisive passes from Rose, captain-coach Daniel Fitzhenry and centre Peter Little got winger Ned Mortimer across in the left-hand corner in the 69th minute - but only after he planted the ball one-handed with an acrobatic roll.

And with time slipping away - and Branighan still in the sheds - the Bulls found a way to inflict even greater distress on Young.

Inspired by a combination of clever running and scheming by hooker Pani Manawatu and Little, the Bulls final try was near-miracle effort.

Ultimately, big Wil Merritt had some work to do of his own to score the try in the right-hand corner, and put Rose firmly in the spotlight.

Rose was later flashing a winning grin as Fitzhenry reflected on Southcity's remarkable escape act.

"It wasn't great," Fitzhenry said.

"We never seemed to settle down.

'"We had an interrupted preparation and we played like it."

Fitzhenry admitted the Bulls had lost some of the momentum they had built over the past few games, including bowling over Albury a fortnight ago..

"It's like we've taken three step forwards and five backwards," he said.

Southcity certainly fell short of premiership precision yesterday, making unforced errors with the ball and missing tackles.

Still, the Bulls led 4-0 after Mortimer glide over for the try in the 11th minute off a Little pass, but Young struck back with a soft try to lock Ben Jamieson five minutes later.

Down 6-4 in the 24th minute, the Bulls recovered the lead when Little zoomed over after a slice of Mortimer magic.

Yet again, however, Young hit the front when Branighan chipped kicked for Jake Venney to score uin the 35th minute.

Two minutes later the Cherrypickers broke away 16-8 after Branighan created a try for centre Perry Whitely, but the thrills just kept coming.