There were no touchies, and no scores were provided. The crowd at Jack Woolaston Oval was sparse, and it was stinking hot.
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This was the scene at Saturday's trial game between North Tamworth and Terrigal. Nothing was on the line, except a valuable tune-up for the upcoming season, and, importantly, pride.
As such, the hits stung and the delight in winning, and the annoyance in losing, remained strong.
It was the visitors who prevailed, 32-12 - dominating most of the match (Norths led 12-6 after the first quarter) as they attacked the Bears' edges via fast ball movement and ran in a series of unanswered tries.
The Sharks were jubilant when a late-match try underlined their superiority on the day, while the Bears' veteran halfback, Kieran Fisher, was furious with his teammates for allowing the thumping to occur.
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It was Norths' first trial match this off-season. And captain-coach Scott Blanch admitted that the Bears' edge vulnerability was, in large part, due to a lack of match fitness - and the Sharks' verve.
"Individual efforts were good," he said. "But as a team we were a bit rusty.
"That's understandable. We sort of left our pre-season start late ... So another trial against Aberdeen in a couple of weeks [at home on April 13] and a couple of weeks to the [start of the] comp.
"So we've still got a lot of work to do."
Blanch hyperextended his right arm late in the match and came off, but said it was "fine".
He thought Alec Cocking, Andrew Moodie and Josh Schmiedel all played well in good returns to the club.
Schmiedel, 32, first played with Norths in 2001, when I was 17. "We won three premierships in a row in 2005-06-07," he said.
In 2008, he went to Gunnedah for a year, and returned to Norths in 2009. That year they lost the grand final to West Lions - the first of their five straight premierships.
The former NSW Country rep then played in Newcastle, before spending the past two years with Aberdeen in Group 21 - winning the premiership twice, then losing last season's grand final.
"It's great to be back," he said. "They have pretty much the nucleus of last year's side ... and have some great combinations.
"I just want to help them win six [premierships] in a row. But it's great to play with Chinny [Shane Wadwell] again. He was the best man at my wedding and it's his 10th year at the club."
Schmiedel copped a knock to his right knee in the third quarter on Saturday but returned to finish the trial strongly.
