URALLA coach Carl Press said there were a lot of positives to take from Saturday’s 36-32 loss against Armidale.
It was the Tigers’ return to first grade rugby league after several seasons in reserve grade.
“Really it was just a lack of experience in the end,” he said.
“It was there for our taking and we couldn’t quite close it out.”
Press said he was always confident his side could overrun the Rams, even when trailing 30-6 early in the second half.
“I knew they were going to come out and steamroll us early,” he said.
“They have one of the biggest packs in country rugby league, but those big guys were always going to fatigue.”
Cunning strategy also played a part.
The grass at Woodville Oval was deliberately kept longer and one half of the ground was longer than the other.
“I told our boys to run into the long grass first and see how they handled it with tired legs,” Press said.
“It nearly paid off.”
The Uralla coach said hooker Zac Brown and halfback Lewis Ahoy were his side’s standouts.
The Tigers travel to Tingha to play the other Group 19 Tigers this Saturday.
Tingha goes into the match on the back of a 34-10 win against Ashford.
In the other Group 19 clash, Glen Innes hammered Moree Boars 38-18, while the match between Moree Boomerangs and Goondiwindi was postponed.
The Armidale Rams make the 320km trip to Goondiwindi this Saturday.
