Bradford Bulls needed a 79th minute try to Leon Pryce to deny Leeds Rhinos 20-18 at Headingley on Friday night and keep alive their hopes of ending the season at the head of the Tetley's Rugby Super League table.
The Bulls were trailing 18-16 going into the closing stages of the clash, but James Lowes and Nathan McAvoy combined on the right for the winger to produce a fine offload for a gleeful Pryce to touch down.
It capped a fine comeback for the Bulls, who trailed 16-6 at half time after being ahead within two minutes through Michael Withers.
The Rhinos, who opted for talented young stand off Danny McGuire ahead of Ben Walker, got off to the worst possible start, finding themselves 6-0 behind before they had touched the ball.
Francis Cummins allowed Paul Deacon's kick to bounce under his foot for a 40/20 following the opening set of six, and two tackles later Withers scythed past Ryan Bailey to touch down, Paul Deacon converting.
Leeds were back in the game on six minutes, when Ryan Sheridan and Kevin Sinfield combined for Chev Walker to step inside Brandon Costin and touch down.
The Bulls' forward pack threatened to dominate, but Leeds had the best chance, when Matt Diskin could not take Andy Hay's inside ball, before Willie Poching took a pass from the second row to dive in unchallenged on 19 minutes.
Kevin Sinfield again missed the conversion attempt, but added a penalty on 27 minutes to give the Rhinos a 10-6 lead.
Mark Calderwood has earned as many plaudits this season for his impressive kick chase as he has for his try ratio, and another follow-up saw Leeds win the ball back from a drop out before seizing the advantage before half time.
The possession allowed Hay to pass inside again to Keith Senior, who romped over from 20 yards to score for the eighth successive game, Sinfield's fine touchline conversion giving them a 16-6 gap at the break.
But the Bulls were back within four points four minutes after the restart, when Chev Walker lost the ball in a three-man tackle as he was pushed towards his own tryline, and Danny Gartner dropped on the loose ball, Deacon goaling.
Costin had a try ruled out eight minutes later at the corner, but the Bulls made Leeds pay when Robbie Paul - again forced to start as a substitute - danced his way over on 53 minutes to level the game at 16-all.
Kevin Sinfield edged Leeds ahead again on 62 minutes with a penalty, after Brian McDermott's steal on Wayne McDonald as the game became an arm wrestle.
Jamie Peacock saw a try go begging when he burst through, only to see his inside ball knocked down by Cummins.
However, just when the Bulls appeared to be leaving Headingley without the points, James Lowes and Nathan McAvoy kept the ball alive on the blind side, and Leon Pryce took the pass to step over.
It proved a cruel blow for Leeds, who again fought gamely after a defeat at St Helens last week, but the Bulls now know that retaining the top spot remains a realistic prospect.
"I thought we were pretty good in the second half, ordinary in the first half," was Bulls coach Brian Noble's succinct verdict. "We made far too many errors and let them play too quickly.
"They rolled their sleeves up in the second half, they really showed what a champion side they are.
"They went forward, they tackled really well, they started winning the ground and, had we had a semblence more control, I thought we would have scored more - we did enough throughout the game to win it.
"We turned it around really well and showed we are in pretty good shape. That second 40 was somewhere near where we need to be, but we've still got some improvement in us.
"I thought Robbie Paul sparked us up when he came on. He looked sharp, dangerous, he threatened the line. There was a lot of individual endeavour from everybody. Brian McDermott came on and gave us a lift by doing the basics."
Leeds coach Daryl Powell said: "It's never easy to lose a game like that when you've been in control for so long.
"At half time we were in a pretty good position but we came out a bit flat in the second half and they picked their game up. They were just too good for us at the end when we were a little bit tired.
"We worked exceptionally hard. We couldn't have worked any harder. The commitment, effort and determination was there, we were not smart enough in the second half at times, but I thought we did enough to win the game.
"(In the first half) I thought we played some smart stuff. Bradford made a few errors and we scored a couple of tries, but I thought have built a little bit more pressure.
"Going in 16-6 at half time, you have to be pretty happy. I thought if we could have started the second half strongly we could have put Bradford away, but they were too strong for us and that proved crucial in the end."
Teams:
Rhinos: Cummins; Calderwood, C Walker, Senior, Pratt; Sinfield, Sheridan; Ward, Diskin, McDermott, Hay, Bailey, Poching.
Subs: Burrow, McGuire, McDonald, Jones-Buchanan.
Bulls: Withers; McAvoy, Gilmour, Costin, Vainikolo; Pryce, Deacon; Vagana, Lowes, Fielden, Gartner, Peacock, Forshaw.
Subs: Paul, McDermott, Anderson, Radford.
