A resurgent Pirates have won their third straight match, beating the Highlanders 24-10 in Inverell, but the Tamworth side's skipper warns that the three-time reigning premiers still have much improvement in them.
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Conrad Starr, who crossed for two tries on Saturday, said Pirates lacked patience in attack.
There was still "plenty to work on", he said, as Pirates continued to rebound from a poor start to the year.
They are in fifth place on the ladder, with four wins from seven games. Inverell are second last, with one win.
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Starr wants Pirates to "build pressure" better and "make the most of possession a little bit more".
"We were a bit too hasty to try and score [against Inverell]," he said.
"We have to build pressure and keep working away at it, and hope the points will come then.
"I think we tried to throw the ball around a little bit too much at times, and it didn't pay off and kept Inverell in the game for a little bit too long."
Despite his concerns, the No.8 said Pirates were working hard and were improving each week.
He said the loss of No.10 Andrew Moodie at the end of last season, when he rejoined the North Tamworth Bears, was always going to be tough to plug.
The club have used three players in that position this year, with the latest No. 10, Jye Paterson, scoring one of Pirates' four tries on Saturday.
Starr was "really happy" with Pirates' defensive effort against the Highlanders. "We kept them out for the majority of the game," he said.
Pirates 24 (C Starr 2, J Schwager,J Paterson tries; A White 2 con) d Inverell 10 (T Vea try; H Barnett pen, con)
