Macleay Valley Mustangs coach Beau Champion "can't fault" his side's effort in their 30-18 loss to the Wauchope Blues in Group 3 Rugby League.
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Played at Wauchope on May 18, the Blues took control early, setting the pace for the game. Despite this, the Mustangs fought back with tries from Malcolm Webster, Savani Ratu, Shane Davis-Caldwell, and Ethan Cooper.
The Blues managed to regain their footing, with a try from captain-coach Beau White sealing their victory. Other notable contributors for Wauchope included Owen Blair, Reuben Trick (who scored three tries), and Bryce Roche.
Champion said the game "could've gone either way".
"I've got to give Wauchope a lot of credit; I think they played really well," he said. "We led 18-16 with 15 minutes to go, but we unfortunately couldn't close it out."
Champion said the loss provided a good "learning experience".
"There's a lot of positives we can take out of that game moving forward," he said. "I really liked our intent and how we attacked the game, and I think we gave ourselves enough opportunities to score."
"I left the game feeling proud of their effort and their performance. Having said that, we were right there and couldn't ice the game. That's something we need to fix moving forward."
Champion said he remained optimistic about the team's future this season as he looks ahead to their next clash against Taree City at Taree.
"I'm confident that we can beat any team if we stick to our processes," he said. "They're going to be desperate to win like us, but we need to go there and put in a really good performance."
Wauchope Blues' captain-coach Beau White said it was a "scrappy game" at home.
"I think we could've played a lot better, but it was great to get the win," he said. "I think we led pretty well at the start of the game and we probably should've gone on with it."
White also commended Sam Watts, who played his 150th game on the weekend.
"Sam was unreal on Saturday., he led from the front. He's a top bloke and a really good clubman as well."
White said he was impressed with how his team ended the game.
"We dug deep, and went back to our structure which got us the necessary points to win."
Wauchope will now play the in-form Wingham Tigers at Wingham this weekend.
