The Moree Boars suffered their second consecutive loss at the hands of ladder leaders Glen Innes Magpies on Sunday in a high scoring affair.
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The Magpies raced out to an early lead in the opening 20 minutes, but the Boars were able to claw their way back into the match, going into the half time break tied up at 28-28.
The Magpies were the better of the two sides in the second half, however, coming away with a 46-38 win.
Boars captain coach Stan Swan said he was happy with his side's attacking performance but knows they need a lot of improvement at the opposite end of the field.
"Our defence wasn't really good on the weekend. They were just too strong," he said.
Despite this, Swan said he was really "proud of the boys" on their effort to work their way back into the match after they went down early on.
"The boys showed a lot of fight," he said.
"They did get a bit of a lead on us in the first 20 to 25 minutes, but then we showed a heap of fight to come back and make it 28-all at half time."
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Swan labelled second rower Jackson Fuller as one of his side's strongest on the day, as well as winger Vincent Green and fullback Waltor Hickling.
The Boars currently sit in fourth position on the ladder and will now face a tough away trip to play the Narwan Eels, who sit just two points above them but have a far superior points difference.
It shapes up as an important match in determining the make-up of the top four, with Narwan a chance to jump up into second with a win should Glen Innes defeat the Boomerangs.
Swan knows the team's defensive efforts will have to be much stronger if they want to walk away with the win.
The Boars came away with a 38-24 win over the Eels the last time the two sides faced off, but Swan said it will be a much tougher ask at their home ground.
"We've just got to turn up to play on the weekend," he said.
"Over there at their home ground they're pretty strong so we've just got to go over there and expect a physical game against Narwan."
In the under-18s, the match was called off early after a couple of severe injuries.
The Magpies took 11 players over, and had three players taken to hospital due to a concussion, neck injury and dislocated knee, respectively.
Glen Innes were leading 12-6 at the time it was called off and were therefore handed the win.
In the ladies league tag, the Boars proved too strong and got an important win to ensure they remained in second position.
They came out of the blocks strong and entered half time with a 16-4 lead. The Magpies made a push in the second half but the Boars did enough to hold on for a 22-14 win.
