PORT Macquarie achieved what few other sides have managed, but it wasn't enough to stop them bowing out of the NSW Junior State Cup at the semi-final stage on Sunday.
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The Makos under-18 girls conceded the first try, but then hit back with two of their own to momentarily lead the Sea Eagles midway through the match.
They couldn't sustain their effort for the entire 20 minutes as they went down five tries to two.
Coach Cath Eichmann, however, is already plotting their revenge at the state championships in three weeks at Penrith.
"Against a team like Manly - and in a 20-minute game - you just can't afford to make errors," she said.
"We made a couple in the middle part of the game which gave them the opportunity to get one or two tries ahead.
"With Manly, if they get ahead they're hard to pin back so when we were ahead two tries to one I was a bit hopeful, but ... not to be."
The Makos cause wasn't helped on day two when playmaker Allie Wood suffered a broken finger which put her out of the tournament.
"Allie is one of our state players and we lost her, so hopefully it's only a three-week break and we'll have her back for the state championships."
Eichmann said a few costly errors from her team as well as their fitness levels were the difference.
"We've got to be better for longer," she said.
"Watching the way they bring their players on and off the field we gave them ground in their box set so we'll go back to the drawing board and find a way to slow their momentum down.
"With Manly, you've got to keep them from getting within the 20-metre one of the tryline. Once they're in that space they're lethal."
The Sea Eagles scored a few late tries which saw the scoreline blow out.
"I think four-two would have been fairer, but they got those last couple of tries in the end where our girls probably dropped their heads a little bit," Eichmann said.
"But I'm proud of where they got.
"I've always said to the girls they're probably the second-best team in the state, but they keep meeting Manly in the top four or the top eight.
"If we can meet them in the top two it'll be great; hopefully Penrith will be the spot for us."
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