NOT quite perfect but definitely good enough was the reaction of Brothers captain-coach Ben Black after breaking their Group Nine duck on Saturday.
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Coming off three successive losses to start to the season, Brothers finally stopped the rot with a nervous 30-16 win over Tumbarumba at Equex Centre.
Down 16-10 at half-time, Brothers second rower Seb Cottam got the team level at 16-all in the 42nd minute before two late tries swept the Brethren home.
Amid the celebrations, Black made it clear he thinks Brothers have taken a tentative step toward saving their Group Nine skins.
“Getting the first win is so important,” Black said.
“It will give everyone a lot of confidence and is something to build on.”
Despite breaking the ice, Black was not about to make any fanciful claims about the team.
“This was a bit of learning curve for us,” Black said.
“We still got lost (at times) … they (Tumbarumba) scored some soft tries.
“And to be honest we probably should have scored three of four more tries.
“Sometimes I think we just try too hard.”
For Brothers, the five tries to three tries success was an acid test of their character and resolve.
Often guilty of brittle defence in their own territory, the Brethren certainly had to show some grit in the trenches on Saturday.
Several times Tumbarumba had multiple chances to score, but were either denied by scrambling Brothers defenders or poor execution.
Black was adamant the turning point for Brothers emerged midway through the second half.
“They had five sets almost on our line but we kept them ouy,” he said.
“That was a critical period.”
With the game locked at 16-all, both teams had opportunities to seize the initiative.
Brothers winger Harold Kirby blew a try when he lost the ball over the line in the 58th minute before Tumbarumba fullback Damien Scott did virtually the same five minutes later.
It was also a case of so close when Brothers winger Matt Ward was held up over the try-line in the 71st minute and Black as well 40 seconds later.
Significantly, the pressure got to Tumbarumba in the 73rd minute when halfback Jordan Anderson gave away a penalty for hold down in a tackle and Kirby booted the goal to puts Brothers ahead 18-16.
With the game still in the balance Black weaved some magic to put Aaron Wynne over for a try in the 76th minute – and the result was more or less settled.
Even a miracle was not going to save Tumbarumba by the time Cade Price zoomed over in the last minute.
As Brothers celebrated, Tumbarumba lamented missed chances – the team bombed three tries – and costly infringements.
The heroes for Brothers were Sione Nuilia, Joe Ioane-Toetu, Hayden Diggins, Price and Black, but the Greens also had their great contributors including Kane Hammond, Casey Johnson, Luke Hudson and Jake Goldspink.