The Blacks were down to 14 men for most of the second half when Laurence Burdekin was red-carded after throwing a flurry of punches in a melee.

Man of the match Ryan McCormack’s sure boot under pressure and an amazing try-saving tackle by Jono O’Toole ensured the Blacks a share of the title, after trailing 10-7 at half-time.

McCormack’s man of the match performance was even more meritorious as he battled illness for the entire second half.

Blacks coach Luke Cunningham hailed his team’s fighting spirit and effort of playing out the game and extra time a man down.

Cunningham said while a draw probably left everyone a bit flat, the Blacks should celebrate as they deserved the title, even if it had to be shared.

Despite being a man down in the taxing heat, the Blacks had the better of the scoring opportunities in the second half and looked to have sealed victory when wing Jackson Cassidy crossed out wide.

But the referee disallowed the try, ruling - much to the surprise of the crowd - that there had been a shepherd in the play.

Down 7-10 the Blacks continued to push hard and were awarded a penalty shortly before full-time. 

McCormack signalled he would have a shot at goal. Kicking into the wind his task was aided when the Greens were marched back 10 metres for dissent.

It was the last score of the match, despite repeated breaks of Merewether’s line by skipper No. 8 Sean O’Connor and inside centre Mick Akers.

O’Connor literally pushed the Greens’ defence aside with his massive fend and was involved in the Blacks’ only try which was scored by Rhys Clacherty and converted by McCormack.

The Greens appeared certain to break the deadlock in the dying seconds of the first period of extra time, when they sent the ball out wide and their wing raced towards the try line.

But in the moment of the match O’Toole sprinted across the ground and managed to tackle his opponent into touch only centimetres from the try line.