The cruel face of sport showed up unannounced on Farrer's doorstep on Wednesday morning, and, in the succinct words of Farrer No 6 Mitchell Henderson, "it sucks".
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A 90-metre intercept try to St Edward's College halfback Sandon Smith, in the dying stages of a knockout NRL Schoolboy Cup clash, was converted from in front and the Gosford side won 18-16.
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Henderson - the Greater Northern Tigers under-18 five-eighth this year and a Harold Matthews Cup title winner with the Eels in 2019 - was the best player on the field.
He scored two first-half tries (both classy efforts) that eroded a 12-0 deficit and left Farrer trailing 12-10 at half-time.
Henderson then crossed early in the second half (a strong, close-range solo try like his first four-pointer) and he converted it, to give Farrer a 16-12 lead that they protected superbly as St Edward's launched a fusillade of offensive raids.
That tenaciousness was rewarded when Farrer attacked the visitors' right edge in search of a OK win, and Smith pounced - any hope of him being apprehended quickly expunged.
Schoolboy rugby league's premier annual competition, truncated this year because of COVID, started at the round of 16.
Henderson said: "It sucks, to be honest. I thought we really did a lot to get back into the game in that first quarter; we were really on the back foot.
"And then to finish with an intercept, full-field try, it hurts a lot."
And then to finish with an intercept, full-field try, it hurts a lot.
- Mitchell Henderson
Henderson and his teammates were disconsolate post-match, as St Edward's celebrated with gusto.
"A lot of us will look back," Henderson said, "and think we can do things better. But, yeah, [you] can't fix it."
It was Farrer and St Edward's first match this year, and credit to them for producing a high-quality, entertaining spectacle.
