Western Rams under 18s coach Kurt Hancock said his side 'needs to believe in themselves, and each other' more after a four point loss to Macarthur Wests Tigers in the Laurie Day Cup at Kirkham Oval, Camden on Sunday afternoon.
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It was a tale of two halves, but a littany of unforced errors from the Rams meant the Tigers held on to win 16-12 over the fast-finishing visiting side.
The game got off to the worst possible start for the Rams, with a forward pass on the opening set gifting the Tigers great field position - which they took full advantage of, scoring through hulking lock Dean Cotton after stretching the Rams defence with less than three minutes on the clock.
Both sides were guilty of unforced errors in the opening 10 minutes of the game, but it was the Tigers who were the more disciplined of the two - crossing yet again in just the 11th minute.
Winger Likari Leota went over in the corner after a great cut-out pass by five-eighth Zac Gibson on the short side, with Gibson then adding the extras with a great conversion from the sideline.
Cotton was in again for his second four pointer in the 28th minute - a try that will likely go down as the best of the season.
Chasing a clever grubber kick behind the line from Gibson, Cotton was the first to the ball at the 40 metre line - but instead of picking it up, he kicked it towards the post, with the ball bouncing off the left upright and straight into his hands for a try.
It took the score to 16-nil at half-time, and the Rams looked gone for all money.
Rams coach Kurt Hancock was circumspect after the game, lamenting the inability of his side to play the brand of footy a green and white jumper requires, particularly in the first half.
"We weren't there mentally today, it was really disappointing that we had revisit what our Rams program is all about at half-time," he said after the game.
"It was just...talking about what we are about and I told them they needed to believe in themselves, and in each other...but that's not how we play Rams footy.
"The effort was outstanding, but the execution just wasn't there," said a disappointed Hancock.
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The side responded to the coach's words of wisdom 10 minutes into the second half, with halfback Jamie Thorpe combining with Aiden Bermingham and skipper Laclan Lawson to send Dubbo winger Will Cuthill over for the side's first try.
A skirmish after the try led to two Tigers sinbinned and Rams hooker Bermingham sent off - but all it seemed to do was spur the Western boys into action.
A brilliant set piece with 13 minutes left gave speedy Cowra junior Ryan Carroll some space - finally - and he duly delivered, scoring an electric try in the corner thanks to a Thorpe try assist.
Thorpe and Lawson combined again to put Carroll over again with seconds left on the clock, but for Hancock though, it was too little, too late.
He said the most disappointing aspect of the defeat was the fact the side strayed away from the plan the coaching staff had in place.
"We had a training session yesterday, and it was the best session we've had all season," he said.
"We had a clear plan, but we did not at all execute what we wanted to do during the game.
"We didn't want to go through the middle, but we spent most of the game doing that; and as soon as we went to the edges in the last 20 minutes we were able to exploit some match-ups," said Hancock.
In the end, it was goal kicking that separated the teams, and while Hancock was keen to praise the effort of his players, he knows they'll need to dig deep to respond well in the next two games.
"The boys responded well in the second half through their outstanding effort, but rugby league is a tough game and you have to be able to execute under fatigue," he said.
"The boys were absolutely shattered, but after the game I assured them that we (coaching staff) still believe in them - though we have to respond strongly.
"The next two games are very winnable if we knuckle down and execute our game plans," said Hancock.
The loss means the Rams will need a few results to go their way if they are to feature in finals.
Next Saturday, the Rams will host the Monaro Colts at Pioneer Oval in Parkes as part of a bumper weekend of rugby league for the town.
MACARTHUR WESTS TIGERS 16 (Dean Cotton 2, Likari Leota tries; Zac Gibson 2 goals) defeated WESTERN RAMS 12 (Ryan Carroll 2, Will Cuthill tries)
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