Just survive.
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Those were the two words that Port City assistant coach Tim Donovan urged from his team at halftime of their gritty 28-12 victory over Macleay Valley on May 14.
The defending premiers then did exactly that for 40 minutes as they overcame first-half injuries to Jarrod Robbins and Jake Kelly to extend their unbeaten run to three matches.
Nick Smith finished on one leg in the five-tries-to-two win while hooker Jeremy Smith was also wobbly on his feet in the closing stages of the brutal contest.
Macleay Valley weren't without injury worries of their own after Isaiah Barker (hamstring) broke down in the warm-up before Ryan Taylor (shoulder) left the field after 30 minutes.
"We pride ourselves on our fitness and grit in everything we do at training so that's what we do the tough stuff for every Tuesday and Thursday night," Donovan said.
"We'd now like to think that as last year's premiership winners we can add a bit more to our game."
The Breakers didn't have it all their own way and had to rely on a stoic defensive stand 10 minutes from full-time to secure the points.
They repelled the Mustangs for four-straight sets when they clung to a 20-12 lead and had the fortune of witnessing Macleay Valley forward Ethan Thompson lose the ball over the line with four minutes remaining.
![Billy Sprague Billy Sprague](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/AvTasJXTP9E9vynpsDYDfi/25b97747-b1f1-4fdf-ac5f-8ec969b51c15.JPG/r0_342_3666_2403_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
It would have set up a grandstand finish.
"Mustangs kept coming at us and they're a really dangerous team. They're not to be underestimated and they showed that today," Donovan said.
"It's pleasing that we relied on each other and got through it. It wasn't pretty and again wasn't up to our standard, but we'll regroup and go again next week."
If not for the efforts of interchange forward Ty-Jesse Brabant who played the majority of the game as the injury list mounted, the Breakers could have suffered their first defeat of the season.
He was one of the best players on the field in a match where he might have come of age as a first grader.
![Bailey Thompson Bailey Thompson](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/AvTasJXTP9E9vynpsDYDfi/06525319-26ae-450f-8bdb-ce7c59910398.JPG/r0_240_3856_2408_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"Coming from under-18s last year we've had our eye on him and he now plays like he's a seasoned first grader," Donovan said.
"You can't fault the impact he has and we can't wait to get him out on the field because he fits in nicely. We're very lucky to have him."
Mustangs coach Ant Cowan remained proud of the efforts of his team who lost Barker before a ball was kicked and then Taylor (shoulder) in the first half.
"We defended for the first 30 minutes and we had to make some late changes, but I couldn't be any prouder of what the boys did today," he said.
"We knew Breakers were going to be a tough side and come through the middle... try and bash the front door down, but we held ourselves pretty well."
![Tyler Roberts Tyler Roberts](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/AvTasJXTP9E9vynpsDYDfi/a4cb7386-0a56-41e5-9cc2-ad9dda9d4667.JPG/r0_172_2503_1579_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Macleay Valley's defence remained difficult to break all match and only had Tyler Roberts' rampaging try 90 seconds from full-time as their only slip-up along with Jeremy Smith's burrowing effort.
"They scored their first three tries off kicks so that's a positive for us moving forward and we know now where we're at," Cowan said.
"That's the beauty of the game... how do you react to losing.
"It's good to win because you're on so much of a high and we won our first two games convincingly, but Breakers sort of taught us a lesson today. It's now how we react moving forward."
The Thompson brothers were arguably Macleay's best, although fullback Tirell Dungay was also elusive whenever he got his hands on the ball.
"You can't describe Bailey and Ethan Thompson... they're both workhorses," Cowan said.
Their impatience with the ball late in the second half when the match was on the line proved costly, but the coach was confident his team would continue to evolve.
"It's always nice to get these losses in early in the season; we're two out of three and are still sitting in a good spot," he said.
Port City Breakers 28 (tries: Richie Roberts, Dylan Adams, Ryan Moloney, Tyler Roberts, Jeremy Smith; goals: Cuban Quinlan-Piper 4/6) defeated Macleay Valley Mustangs 12 (tries: Ethan Cooper, Bailey Thompson; goals: Tirell Dungay 2/2)
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