IT'S been the unfortunate story of recent Group 10 premier league games for St Pat's: Putting themselves into the contest over the first half before failing to go on with the job.
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That timelines played out again for the Saints on Sunday when they went down 30-18 to hosts Oberon Tigers.
Pat's were in a position to strike with the scores locked at 12-all during the break but the Tigers were hungrier for victory in the second term.
Following lost half-time leads against Bathurst Panthers and Cowra Magpies, Pat's have not been good friends with minutes 40 to 80 over the past month.
It's a tough result for the Saints to take after showing patches of promise again in a losing fight.
Pat's hooker Hudson White said a couple of mistakes with the ball was all it took for the Tigers to put the win out of reach.
"We were neck and neck at half-time but after that we made a couple of silly errors. That gave them a good sniff at it, they took advantage of the chance and got the better of us," he said.
"We had a few good opportunities which we bombed. Those couple of mistakes we made afterwards piggybacked them into it.
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"It's disheartening to keep getting so close but we just can't seem to put it together for 80 minutes. We have about 50 minutes of good footy and then a bad patch where we're losing it.
"McCoy White was definitely was one of our best on ground today. He really stood out. I thought Harry Jones also was right up there as one of our best players."
Saints youngsters Ash Cosgrove and Nic Barlow were outstanding for their club in what was a tough first grade debut.
Pat's remain stranded on 10 points while the Tigers move two points ahead of them.
With fifth place now belonging to Cowra Magpies, with 14 points, the situation is looking grim for the Saints with four rounds to go.
The Saints' last four games will be against Orange CYMS, Mudgee Dragons, Orange Hawks and Blayney Bears.
The story's a brighter one for the Saints' other three grades this year.
League tag, reserve grade and under 18s all recorded big wins over the Tigers, ensuring all teams will be heading to finals again this season.