A second-half surge from the Bungendore Mudchooks has handed the Batemans Bay Boars their third loss of the 2019 season.
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The Boars led 26-12 at half time in the match played in Bungendore, but couldn't get the job done as they fell 29-26.
Coach Matt Ryan said the second-half performance was disappointing, particularly after last week's performance against Taralga.
"It was a tale of two halves," he said. "We were playing some great football in the first half, and we played really smart.
"In the second half, we put a line through all that, and the end result didn't go our way.
"We came out of the Taralga game pretty positive, and we went into this game with the same mind set. I thought we'd kick away at half time, but some dumb rugby and poor game management hurt us in the end."
The Boars have struggled with numbers on the road in previous seasons, but Ryan refused to blame numbers for this loss.
"We knew what we needed to do at half time, and we spoke about things like territory and possession, but the problem was we tried to continue what we had done in the first half," he said. "The game had changed at that point, and we didn't adjust.
"It's going to take a little longer for us to get out of some old habits. There are some positives to take out of this match, and if we continue to work and train hard, we've got the team to push further this year."
Matt Ryan said the loss hadn't changed his expectations for the season.
"Bungendore has some really good players, and they're a bigger side than us," he said. "A loss to them at home isn't the end of the world by any means.
"We expected more out of ourselves this year, and although this loss is disappointing, I've seen what we can do.
"I've seen how hard the players have trained this year, so I still expect big things out of them."
The Boars will take on the Braidwood Redbacks this weekend on their annual 'Ladies Day'.
"We'll have live music and raffles, and there will be free food and wine for any local ladies who want to come down and watch some rugby," Ryan said.