A superb display by the outstanding Jy-Mel Coleman failed to inspire Hemel Stags to victory as they fell to a disappointing 34-26 loss to playoff rivals Gateshead Thunder.
Matty Beharrell and Jacob Blades scored early tries for the hosts and Ben Hardcastle added a goal to see Thuder take a 10-0 lead, before a try from Alex Ingarfield, converted by Barry John Swindells, got the Stags back into the game.
Jy-Mel Coleman provided the spark for the try, launching a 40-20 upfield before slipping a neat pass to Ingarfield to stroll over the line.
Blades went over again three minutes before the interval to give Thunder a 14-6 half-time advantage.
Tom Capper grabbed a quick-fire double, either side of a James Cameron riposte for Hemel, and Hardcastle added a goal as Gateshead gave themselves breathing space in the second half.
Cameron’s effort was a scrambled one; the Australian swooping on a neat grubber kick by Jermaine Coleman to finish well.
Hemel’s third try, an easy finish for Evan Simons after good work from Jy-Mel Coleman, kept Stags in the hunt, but back came Gateshead with further tries from Chris Heil and Rhys Clarke.
At 16-34 and with 10 minutes remaining, Hemel were in danger of missing out on even a bonus point.
But the ever-willing Jy-Mel Coleman soon remedied that, drawing a defender before slipping a lovely pass to Swindells to score.
He than produced an inch-perfect reverse kick across the front of the uprights for brother Jermaine Coleman to collect and touch down in the final try scoring action of the afternoon.
There is still plenty to play for as an intriguing season reaches its climax.
Talk on the long journey home centred on whether 34 points – Hemel currently have 28 with four games left – might be enough to secure one of those coveted playoff spots come the end of the regular season on September 7.