While the Port Macquarie Sharks produced their "best win of the season" against the Macleay Valley Mustangs in Kempsey, coach Matt Hogan knows the job isn't done yet.
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After a slow start to the game, a strong second half paved the way for the Sharks who came away with a bruising 22-14 victory.
Port Macquarie Sharks coach Mat Hogan said he was proud of the team's composure during the game in Kempsey.
"It was a good character building win for us ahead of finals," he said. "A few things didn't go our way at the start, but I thought it was by far the best win of the season in terms of how we kept our composure.
"We stuck to the football that we wanted to play and not the football that they tried to make us play.
"They are a quality side and the brand of football they play is intense, but I thought we held strong."
The Port Macquaire Sharks Club produced a clean sweep with all sides getting a win in Kempsey on the weekend - a feat Hogan doesn't take lightly.
"It's very hard to go to Kempsey to get a win, let alone go to Kempsey and collect a clean sweep so it was a massive effort for the club," Hogan said.
After a rocky start to the season, Hogan said he was happy with the progress his side has been making each week as the regular season wraps up.
"We have been our own worst enemy this year," he said. "I'm not saying the other teams haven't beat us, they have on the socreboard, but I feel like our losses have been when we haven't built pressure or we've let them off the hook.
"We are building character and steel in defence; if we get that right and we get a shot at the semi-final, then I think we can worry a few sides when it gets to that stage."
The Sharks will be hoping for a win over the Taree City Bulls this weekend, (August 20) to have a hope of playing in the Group Three Rugby League finals this year.
The Sharks could snare third if they go on a point scoring spree against the Bulls and the Pirates beat the Mustangs comfortably.
Hogan said the team will be "shooting for the stars" this week as they eye the Mustangs' third place position.
"We know what's at stake in this game," he said. "We need to win this game to be in the top five, but we are shooting for the stars and have our sights set on third place.
"A lot of people are relying on results this week, including us."
Mustangs coach Ant Cowan "scrappy" loss to the Sharks brought the team back down to reality ahead of finals.
After collecting a string of comprehensive wins over the past couple of months, a poor second half proved costly for the Mustangs.
"It was a game of two halves," Cowan said. "We were a bit scrappy in a few places, and it's something that we will need to address this week.
"There's not too much to be worried about... that's the loss that we needed. We are coming off some great wins, but that loss brings us back down to reality."
While Cowan said the loss created motivation for the team to bounce back ahead of their clash against the Old Bar Pirates in Old Bar on Saturday, August 19, he was cautious about what it could mean if they enter the finals off the back of two losses.
"It's good to have the loss leading into the semi-finals, it gives us the motivation to bounce back and correct our errors," he said.
"In saying that, we have to turn up against Old Bar because we don't want to be going into the finals down by two.
"We need to make sure that we get the win or at least stay competitive for the full 80 minutes to see where we are at ahead of finals."
Cowan said their preparation will be the key to victory on the weekend.
"We need to make sure that we prepare the best that we can because if we do come off a hard loss, it could drop our confidence a little bit more," he said.
"We need to work on our discipline and stick to our game plan and what's been working for us in the past couple of months. We need to build a bit of momentum now and it starts this week against Old Bar."
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