It was hard to know who was the most satisfied coach after North Tamworth and Gunnedah's entertaining final-round clash at Kitchener Park on Saturday night.
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Bears captain-coach Scott Blanch saluted his players for winning 44-18 and remaining undefeated ahead of their major semi-final clash against Werris Creek at Jack Woolaston Oval next weekend.
Bulldogs coach John Hickey saluted his players for making a contest of it, after Norths jumped to an early 22-0 lead - and said his side would take confidence out of the performance ahead of their elimination final against the Roosters at Kootingal next weekend.
A temperate, still and clear day greeted players for the start of the twilight clash, and there was a sense a special match may ensue.
That did not happen, although the scoreline is misleading.
After the Bears dominated Gunnedah early in the match, another mauling from the minor premiers was a distinct possibility.
But when Bulldogs halfback Matt Brady, one of the best on the day, went himself close to Norths' tryline and scored the home side's first points with about five minutes left in the first half, life had been breathed into the game.
Norths, as they often do, responded immediately when veteran centre Richard Clegg barged over to score, and the Bears led 28-6 at half-time.
But it was game on when Gunnedah found a higher gear after the break, posting two quick tries: the first to young hooker Liam Ireland - a real late-season find, who showed good pace and football IQ to go himself from dummy half close to Norths' tryline and cross under the posts.
Norths' lead was reduced to 28-18 when Brady showed real class to put a hard, straight-running Aaron Donnelly into a hole inside Norths' 20-metre zone and the seasoned centre crossed unhindered. Brady again added the extras.
The Bears, however, responded in their typical confident manner: replacement Jack Patterson crashing over the tryline and Jake McManus converting: 34-18.
Norths scored two more tries, the first a lovely worked move in which Blanch took on the defence inside Gunnedah's 20m zone and then fired a ball to veteran centre Andrew Moodie, who had an unimpeded path to the tryline.
Just before full-time, well-travelled winger Jeremy York crossed for his third try.
Post-match, Blanch, who will attempt to lead his side to a sixth-straight premiership, said: "[I'm] really pleased with the season as a whole - scored some really good tries tonight."
However, he expressed frustration at what he described as a "lull" in the Bears' performance on Saturday - something he said they had been guilty of in the past.
"Sort of when we get a bit of a lead, we tend to sort of take the foot off the pedal and give the other side a little bit of momentum, and then seem to be able to fight our way back
"So, yeah. Pleased with the season and pleased with tonight."
Hickey was "very proud" of his players for their effort against Norths. "I thought they played really well. And in patches I thought we were startin' to get on top.
"But every time we started to get on top, we made a lot of mistakes ... you can't make mistakes against a side that's undefeated and possibly, you know, one of the best sides that's been in Group 4."
North Tamworth 44 (Jeremy York 3, Zac Nigro, Richard Clegg, Andrew Moodie, Shane Wadwell, Jack Patterson tries; Jake McManus 4, Moodie goals) def Gunnedah 18 (Matt Brady, Liam Ireland, Aaron Donnelly tries; Brady 3 goals)
