Behind the Scenes: The Untold Story of Aaron Woods’ Failed Try Celebration

We’ve all seen and love the footage, now 14-time New South Wales Origin representative Aaron Woods has shared side of the story of that failed try celebration. After Blues centre Michael Jennings scored a last minute try to win NSW the game in 2016 and end Queensland’s hopes of a second series sweep in 10 years, pandemonium ensued, with multiple Blues hugging in celebration. Charging in from the back field, New South Wales prop Aaron Woods, who completely missed his teammates and ended up barrelling over in the in-goal.

Speaking on the Fox League podcast, Woods admitted he initially thought the hilarious moment flew under the radar. “I didn’t think anyone saw it,” he said. “I came in and I went to jump, and Josh Mansour pushes [the celebration] across and I miss everyone.” Thinking nothing of it, Woods “got back around the boys” all while a melee between the two teams was breaking out on the Queensland try line.

“The funny thing was at the same time there was (David) Klemmer pushing and shoving with Corey Parker, Jimmy Maloney was pushing and shoving with Dane Gagai.” Even more remarkably, tryscorer Jennings, playing in the final Origin of his career, was “celebrating by himself because we thought someone else scored the try.” Woods added: “It was an unbelievable moment.”

“What made the moment so special was, a lot of people forget that literally a minute or two minutes before Darius Boyd picks up a ball and scores with two minutes or three minutes to go,” the Sea Eagles prop explained. Boyd’s try made it 14-10 in the Maroons favour, all but sealing a 3-0 series win for Queensland. Woods said the Blues were left thinking “Queensland have done it to us again. They’ve done a Queensland to us.”

“We were just sick of all these like ‘oh we played til the last minute and they’ve stolen another game off us. “But when we got the ball, I got a touch and played it out the back to I think it was Pearcey (Mitchell Pearce) and we found Blake Ferguson through a hole and he hits (James) Tedesco back on the inside.” With what Woods described as “one of the best cover tackles,” Cooper Cronk brought Tedesco, playing the first of his 23 consecutive Origin games, down a metre before the line.

In Woods’ eyes, Cronk “had no right” to make that tackle, especially considering “Queensland had already won the series.” But the Maroons champion, playing in his penultimate Origin series, made the tackle, forcing the Blues to shift the ball left through Blues hands. “We shift. It goes through two sets of hands and finds Paul Gallen. I was like ‘no! We’ve just ruined our chance.’ And then Gal hits Michael Jennings short,” Woods recalled. As they say, the rest is history. Jennings scored. New South Wales celebrated and Woods’ failed attempt to join his teammates launched him into Origin, and rugby league infamy.

Amidst the celebrations the former Tiger and Bulldogs middle forward thought no one saw his celebration mishap. It was only once he returned to the sheds when he realised that in fact everyone saw it unfold. “I get inside, check my phone and there was like 80 messages,” Woods said. “I thought no one saw it but jeez. “I still go to the pub and people go ‘how ya’ goin’ Woodsy?’ and when they go to shake my hand they go ‘oh!’ and miss. “It’s a moment I’ll never forget in my life.”