After overcoming a 12-point deficit to get the better of Tumut last week, the Wagga club threatened to reel in another competition favourite at Alfred Oval on Saturday.

Despite a number of opportunities, which included Jake Mascini being denied what looked like a juggling effort to score, Kangaroos couldn't level things up to fall 14-8

With an 80-metre try from Nic Hall splitting the two sides in the finish, Woolford was far from disappointed with the effort.

However he wants to see better execution.

"There is no questioning our effort, we were fantastic after being put under a lot of pressure in the first half with limited ball getting out of our own end, but we just weren't smart enough," Woolford said.

"When we did get opportunities, and we did get enough opportunities as I daresay Young won't be too over the moon with their completion rate either, we lost our way and couldn't quite ice some plays to get some points on the board.

"Last week we were good enough to do it and this week we came up a bit short."

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Young jumped out to an early 8-0 lead but Kangaroos hung in the contest.

Zac Graham scored a crucial try five minutes before the break and the way the Wagga side wrestled themselves back into the contest impressed the former Super League coach.

"I knew if we were better in the second half we would get some field position with the wind behind us, and we did after being gifted some cheap turnovers from Young in their own half," Woolford said.

"There were plenty of opportunities to win that game but we just weren't good enough."

However he's looking for more polish ahead of another big test when they tackle the other undefeated team in the competition, Southcity, at Harris Park on Saturday.

However the tight loss only reinforced that the much improved Kangaroos will be a force to be reckoned with in 2021.

Woolford is pleased with where the team is at following the first three rounds.

"I knew what team we've got and (Young) have put 140 points on the board in the first two weeks and only managed 14 against us so there is a lot to like about our performance defensively," he said.

"We did a fantastic job on the Cornishes but with the ball we just came up short."