CSU's bid to go two from two in the early stages of their New Holland Agriculture Cup campaign came to an abrupt halt in Saturday's loss to Parkes Boars.
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The Mitchell men made the trip to North Parkes Oval feeling refreshed after the bye but the break appeared to sap CSU of their momentum, going down 25-5 to a determined Boars side.
The Boars celebrated former Bathurst Bulldog Joe Nash's 200th game for the club in style while ex-CSU player Jonah Ruzgas also got the better of his former club.
But for the students it's back to the drawing board as they look to pick themselves up before another challenging clash in the grand final rematch against Narromine Gorillas.
CSU coaching staff member Peter Plunkett said the speed of the Boars' play caught the students off guard.
"I think the speed of the game was too much for them. Parkes played fast from the get-go and their forwards laid a great platform. They had a great kicking game and had great field position," he said.
"We made a lot of mistakes coming out of our own half. Their speed in defence was quick and we didn't adjust to it. We made a lot of unforced errors and there were a lot of times where we struggled to put three or four phases together."
The first half belonged entirely to the Boars who got away to a 15-0 lead on the back of some crafty play out of their backline.
CSU recovered a little to make the second half more competitive but their poor start came back to bite them.
"The bright spot for us was our set pieces. The forwards did really well against a much bigger pack. We won our own ball on the lineout and scrum," Plunkett said.
"The problem was we didn't make good use of the ball when we did get it. The second half was a bit better and we got some field position but our execution was the thing that was lacking."