Macleay Valley Mustangs didn't claim the competition points, but they certainly wouldn't have lost any admirers after their 28-12 defeat to Port City Breakers on May 14.
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The Mustangs had to shuffle their line-up late after Isaiah Barker succumbed to a hamstring injury in the warm-up before Ryan Taylor (shoulder) left the field after 30 minutes.
Coach Ant Cowan, however, remained proud of the efforts of his team who still had their chances to win the contest, but were impatient at times when the game was on the line.
"We defended for the first 30 minutes and we had to make some late changes, but I couldn't be any prouder of what the boys did today," he said.
"We knew Breakers were going to be a tough side and come through the middle... try and bash the front door down, but we held ourselves pretty well."
Macleay Valley's defence remained difficult to break all match and only conceded two of the Breakers' five tries from a route other than a kick.
"They scored their first three tries off kicks so that's a positive for us moving forward and we know now where we're at," Cowan said.
"That's the beauty of the game... how do you react to losing.
"It's good to win because you're on so much of a high and we won our first two games convincingly, but Breakers sort of taught us a lesson today. It's now how we react moving forward."
The Thompson brothers were arguably Macleay's best, although fullback Tirell Dungay was also elusive whenever he got his hands on the ball.
"You can't describe Bailey and Ethan Thompson... they're both workhorses," Cowan said.
Their impatience with the ball late in the second half when the match was on the line proved costly, but the coach was confident his team would continue to evolve.
"It's always nice to get these losses in early in the season; we're two out of three and are still sitting in a good spot," he said.
In the brutal contest, Port City lost winger Jarrod Robbins and second-rower Jake Kelly before half-time while Nick Smith finished on one leg.
Hooker Jeremy Smith was also wobbly on his feet in the closing stages of the brutal contest.
"We pride ourselves on our fitness and grit in everything we do at training so that's what we do the tough stuff for every Tuesday and Thursday night," Breakers assistant coach Tim Donovan said.
"We'd now like to think that as last year's premiership winners we can add a bit more to our game."
The Breakers didn't have it all their own way and had to rely on a stoic defensive stand 10 minutes from full-time to secure the points.
They repelled the Mustangs for four-straight sets when they clung to a 20-12 lead and had the fortune of witnessing Macleay Valley forward Ethan Thompson lose the ball over the line with four minutes remaining.
It would have set up a grandstand finish.
"Mustangs kept coming at us and they're a really dangerous team. They're not to be underestimated and they showed that today," Donovan said.
"It's pleasing that we relied on each other and got through it. It wasn't pretty and again wasn't up to our standard, but we'll regroup and go again next week."
If not for the efforts of interchange forward Ty-Jesse Brabant who played the majority of the game as the injury list mounted, the Breakers could have suffered their first defeat of the season.
He was one of the best players on the field in a match where he might have come of age as a first grader.
"Coming from under-18s last year we've had our eye on him and he now plays like he's a seasoned first grader," Donovan said.
"You can't fault the impact he has and we can't wait to get him out on the field because he fits in nicely. We're very lucky to have him."
Port City Breakers 28 (tries: Richie Roberts, Dylan Adams, Ryan Moloney, Tyler Roberts, Jeremy Smith; goals: Cuban Quinlan-Piper 4/6) defeated Macleay Valley Mustangs 12 (tries: Ethan Cooper, Bailey Thompson; goals: Tirell Dungay 2/2)
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