In an otherwise equal game, it can often be short passages of play that are the difference between winning and losing.
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That was the lesson that North Tamworth learned the hard way today, when they fell to a 12-point defeat at the hands of the Dungowan Cowboys at Jack Woolaston Oval.
Off the back of their own one-point defeat to Moree last weekend, the Cowboys were battered, bruised, but keen to make amends.
"We were pretty sore to be honest," Dungowan vice captain, Cody Byrne, said.
"I talked to a few boys when they went to work on Monday and Tuesday and they were pretty busted, but ... everyone pulled up alright today."
Lingering aches from last weekend might explain the Cowboys' relatively slow start in the first half.
After a back-and-forth first term, the margin was only two points as both sides tussled for control. But in the second, Dungowan hit their stride while the Bears suffered a brief lapse.
"We were going okay, scored first in the second half and then there was a 10-minute period where Dungowan scored three quick tries," North Tamworth coach, Paul Boyce, said.
"We just couldn't get out of that tough period. We tried to work hard but it didn't come off for us."
That trio of tries propelled Dungowan to a 32-20 win over the reigning premiers, who suffered their second defeat in as many games.
It was a victorious return to action for Cowboys captain-coach, Brett Jarrett, who missed last weekend due to illness and was sorely missed, Byrne said.
"He really led for us today. We rally around him a bit, he's a good leader," Byrne said.
But when asked who, if anyone, stood out for Dungowan in Tamworth, Byrne answered quickly and unequivocally.
"Pat Lange," he said.
"I thought he was our best by far. He put on a really good game. He was just tough for us throughout the whole game, took on a few tough carries and made a lot of tackles on his edge.
"He's a really tough little bloke."
Dungowan now have four wins and two losses for the season, and will likely remain in third place on the ladder after Werris Creek's narrow win over Kootingal today.
North Tamworth, meanwhile, now have three wins and three losses in 2023, and might slip out of the top four on the ladder after this loss.
And while their performance against the Cowboys was "definitely better" than last week's effort against Werris Creek, Boyce said, he knows all too well that the Bears need to start putting their best football together.
"Everyone looks at us having won seven [premierships] in a row, but it's a different side," he said.
"We're still working out different combinations ... we made improvements, and each week we're making little adjustments but at times we're still not good enough.
"We've got the side to do it, we just need little things to go our way."
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