NORTH Coast Bulldogs face a do-or-die clash with Northern Rivers on Saturday to keep their under-23 Country Rugby League Country Championship hopes alive.
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The Bulldogs fumbled their way through a 28-16 opening round defeat to Newcastle in Cessnock last weekend which could ultimately prove costly in the four-week tournament.
Disappointed coach Matt Shipway said it was "just one of those days" where the harder his side tried, the worse they played.
"We just couldn't hold onto the ball," he said.
"We only completed at around 20 or 25 percent and a bad day is 50 percent so to be half that again, you're not giving yourself a fighting chance.
"The effort was there, but sometimes the harder you try, the worse it gets."
Despite the poor first-half performance, the Bulldogs were still in the contest at halftime when they trailed 16-6.
"The main thing I said to them at halftime was to forget about the first half if we were going to play our style of footy," Shipway said.
The effort was there, but sometimes the harder you try, the worse it gets.
- North Coast Bulldogs under-23 coach Matt Shipway
"But then we dropped the ball early in the second half and we only got away one or two clearing kicks all half which says a lot about how well we completed."
Shipway admitted he didn't need to read his players the riot act as they knew they had let themselves down.
"We get another chance this weekend to improve which I have no doubt we will," he said.
"I know there are a few players who want to make amends; when you go down and have a stinker it's disappointing and disheartening.
"In a four-week comp you don't have time to bring players in, you just have to trust what you've got."
On a disappointing day for the team, Wauchope Blues lock forward Ollie Pascoe was one of the few who could hold his head high.
"Both our wingers were good and Ollie had a strong game in the middle of the park," Shipway said.
Dylan Collett from Grafton went well; there were some good individual performances.
"Front-rowers Jesse Douglas and Mitch Smith were solid and did their jobs, but it was a constant battle to get out of our own end of the field."
Northern Rivers started their campaign with a comprehensive 32-6 win over Greater Northern Tigers.
"We'll need to beat them to have any chance of progressing through," Shipway said.
"But if we win and Newcastle lose, we could still go through to the semi-finals."
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