THEY had the possession, they had the field position, but Bathurst Bulldogs did not have the execution and it meant the Orange Emus held on for a 27-22 in their Blowes Cup match at Ashwood Park on Saturday.
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While Emus dominated the first quarter of the match and zipped out to a 17-0 lead, Bulldogs hauled themselves back into the contest.
With 16 minutes to go there was just two points in it and Bulldogs spent almost that entire period camped inside Emus' half.
The hosts had attacking line-outs, they had attacking scrum feeds and they had the better of the penalty count, but Emus defended grimly on their own line.
"We just didn't execute well enough today, we didn't respect the ball enough. Emus are a team that, when you get a chance, you've got to take it and we didn't do that," Bulldogs coach Matt McRobert said.
"If we want to win those games we've got to learn to respect the ball and get our shoulders on the other side of defence, be patient and work for our opportunities.
"We know we can score points when we keep it simple and respect the ball, but we didn't do that today."
Emus coach Pete Bromley admitted it was tense watching his side have to defend for a bulk of the second half, the Greens putting themselves under pressure with a string of infringements at the breakdown.
But Emus also showed why they are the best defensive unit in 2020 - they'd only conceded four tries prior to Saturday - as they absorbed the pressure and preserved their winning streak. It also saw them lock in the minor premiership and the home ground grand final qualifier that comes with it.
"They gritted it out, it wasn't the prettiest football and I'd prefer to be attacking, not defending, but you've got to do both in footy and the last 20 minutes it was good to defend it out," Bromley said.
"We made a lot of errors and put ourselves under pressure, that's what happens if you make mistakes against good teams, you know you'll have to do a lot of defending.
"It was a good start, we played well for 25 minutes and were up 17-0, but then a couple of errors, they turned it into 17-12 and it became an arm wrestle in the second half.
"So it was pleasing to come over here, our home game turning into an away game, but getting the win and securing the minor premiership. It was a good thing to do."
Before that good defence came a good start as Staniforth booted an early penalty before prop Archer Hall crossed.
Staniforth then slotted between two defenders down the left wing, using his speed and size to get him over the line. His following conversion made it 17-0 after 23 minutes.
Bulldogs needed to be the next to score and they were as after a period of sustained pressure, winger Riley Hanrahan found space on the right edge.
Then as the clocked ticked over to zero for the first half Brad Glasson, running on an inside angle, surged over next to the sticks. Kurt Weekes slotted the easy conversion to make it 17-12.
Bulldogs began the second half full of intent while Emus started it a man short as Jack Marchinton had been yellow carded in the final minute of the first period.
But even while Bulldogs had the overlap, they didn't have the execution. When looking to stretch Emus' defence the ball went to ground.
Carter Hirni swooped and found Harry Cummins in support - the 60 metre try giving Emus a 24-12 lead.
Bulldogs continued to fight - centre Adam Plummer hitting the line hard and punching straight through it after an attacking scrum while Weekes booted a penalty goal soon after to get his side within two of the lead.
But Bulldogs knocked on from the kick-off then gave Staniforth an attempt at penalty goal - which he slotted.
For the remaining minutes, Emus were tested. They survived a Bulldogs' line-out 10m out from the line when Bathurst's throw went wayward.
They survived as Bulldogs threw themselves at the defensive line looking for a way through.
While McRobert said he took heart from the way Bulldogs were able to lift and come back at Emus - a team that's undefeated this year - he knows his side needs intensity across the entire 80 minutes if they are to beat the Orange side.
"Look, that start doesn't help, 17-0 doesn't help. We were probably just guilty of being on our heels that first 10-15 minutes," he said.
"Emus played very well and they took their chances. Really, at the end of the day 17-0 is a lot to make up and for us it was a bridge too far."
