KEMPSEY Cannonballs first grade coach Jared Fuller fears he is beginning to sound like a broken record, following his side’s latest defeat.
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Visitors Port Pirates won 22-17 at the Ian Walton Playing Fields to consign the Macleay men to a second successive defeat to Hastings opposition.
Fuller said the match proceedings had been a familiar story, with good passages of play being blighted with basic errors.
“We did some things well in patches,” he said.
“But we continue to make simple mistakes.
“We really need to start to tidy up.
“Week to week, I can never fault the effort.
“The encouraging thing is the effort’s there, it’s just the execution at times.”
The Pirates ran with the wind at their backs in the first half and established a 10-0 lead, after dominating field position.
Shahid Khalfan posted the Cannons’ first points with a penalty goal, but the visitors replied with another try.
Then, right on half-time, players’ player of the match Brad Booth drove over the line to leave the scoreline at 17-10 in Pirates’ favour at the siren.
The Port Macquarie men exploited sloppy Kempsey play to open their second-half account and extend the lead to 12 points.
The hosts’ Lucas Stewart pounced on a loose ball and was able to streak away to the try line to set up a tight finish, but his was the last score of the match.
Injured Cannons Viliame Tobesewa and Jesse Ball are likely to remain a few weeks away from returning to action.
Reserve grade continued on its recent winning run, accounting for the Pirates by a 33-19 margin.
The under-16s endured a tough day, with a few players unavailable, as the visitors ran out 45-10 winners.
All grades head to north next week for an important round against Coffs Snappers.
“Coffs are just in front in third place,” Fuller said.
“We need a win to help our goal of having a home minor semi-final, and to stay in the race for second place on the ladder.”