Armidale Rams faltered in their first appearance on home turf with a loss to the Moree Boomerangs on Sunday.
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The Rams and the ‘Rangs were one win apiece heading into the round with Moree side coming into the round three encounter off a loss to local rivals, the Boars last Sunday while the hosts earned their first win in more than a year against Tingha Tigers.
The Boomerangs hit back from their last-start loss in emphatic style with a 60 points to 8 win over Armidale.
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The opening stages of the match saw a tight tussle before the visitors blew the game open.
With limited players on the bench, Rams’ coach Steve Ware lamented his side fatigued after repeat defensive sets in the opening stages of the game.
“You give a team like that too much ball and you are defending the whole game, you run out of legs in the end,” he said.
“That's what we did. We basically defended the whole game and our impact from our bench wasn't that crash hot either. Once you lose that quality from the starting front rowers and you have no impact coming off your bench it is hard.
“I have only seen Tingha and the Moree Boomerangs side now, I haven't really seen the other teams but if we keep giving the ball to these teams here in the comp, they will rip you to shreds.”
Ware admitted the Rams were still feeling the after affects of a long-awaited win against Tingha last week and their preparation in the lead-up to the ‘Rangs clash was off.
“That is what it came down to, our training wasn't crash hot on Thursday,” he said.
“At the end of the day it all came down to preparation and how we delivered on Sunday for our first home game was pretty poor.
“As long as the boys understand how to win games back-to-back, I think they were concentrating on the win against Tingha and thinking this was going to be a walk in the park.”
While the loss dampens the excitement surrounding the re-building of the Rams club, Ware is confident they can move on and forward to get better from here.
“It wasn't all doom and gloom, we can take positives out of that but you have to let the boys know the negatives as well,” he said.
“The boys have to get a bit tougher and have more pride in their home ground.
“We will be right, just stay positive and stick together as a group.”
The Rams travel to Glen Innes this Sunday to take on the Magpies.
Preview Thursday.