THE result didn't matter, but Port Macquarie Pirates coach Nigel Harding was still looking for a strong performance from his side on Saturday.
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They certainly achieved that in their three-way trial at Stuart Park against Wauchope and Barraba with the Pirates winning both their matches.
It was another step on the path to their opening round fixture on April 6 although there is still room for improvement.
"We're still working on a certain style of play we want to play this season," Harding said.
"We did some really good things in patches and it's early days but we're still working on our fitness."
The coach admitted he is attempting to instill a hunger into his players where they all vie for positions once the season kicks off.
"I want all players to think they can play first grade this season if they want; that's what we want to do," he said.
Harding also admitted he was working on improving Pirates discipline in game situations.
"We're working on our discipline because there's a common saying in footy if you've got enough time to talk to the referee, you're not working hard enough," he said.
"Without referees you don't have a game. They're not the ones missing the tackles or taking too long to get out of the ruck.
"We're looking to get that out of our game."
Meanwhile, Hastings Valley coach Andrew Kable was pleased to see how some of his side performed under pressure in Saturday's trial with Nelson Bay.
In total, both sides played 120 minutes of rugby across six stanzas of 20 minutes.
Kable admitted there had been a slight turnover of players from last season.
"There were a few there that myself and Chris Johnson haven't seen play before so we wanted to see how they performed," he said.
Tom Woods, Kye Alpen and Kelly Williams were the three who impressed the most ahead of their season opener at Coffs Harbour on April 6.
"Kye impressed us against Walcha when we played them last week and he's trained really well for us since coming back from Darwin," Kable said.
In a boost for the team ahead of the season, Andrew West will pull on the boots for another season.
"He was captain when I coached last, so it's good to see him back," the coach said.
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