Down on the scoreboard at half-time, the Armidale Blues stuck to their guns to grind out a victory over a tenacious Glen Innes Elks outfit.
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Head to toe in mud, the Blues scored the first points five minutes into the match, courtesy of a Jack Grant try.
But the Elks hit back with Nela Loti dazzling with footwork and toeing the ball forward several times to eventually pick it up and cross five minutes out from half-time.
The try was converted and the Elks held a 7-5 advantage at the break.
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The second stanza saw more of the same grinding style of rugby but it was the Blues who managed to make the most of their opportunities with a penalty goal to Edward Pitt followed by back-to-back tries to Ian Ranger which pushed their lead to 20-10.
The battle for possession continued before Blues winger, Jackson Dunne, demonstrated the speed which has seen him claim the annual Guy Fawkes Gift sprint to score in the corner.
The Elks managed to cross for one more try via Lofa Taukei before the full-time siren sounded, the Blues running out 25-12 winners.
Blues co-coach Luke Stephen was most impressed with his team's patience.
"It was a really tight tussle between two sides that, I think, had very contrasting styles," he said.
"Glen really played a smart game today [Saturday] and played to the conditions.
"They were able to ask a lot of questions from our guys by holding onto the ball for multiple phases."
Stephen lauded the efforts of captain Jack Grant who helped keep the side calm in crucial moments.
"The game, we were able to turn it in the second-half when we finally got some ball and gave our forwards the chance to grind out a pretty tough victory."
They'll turn their focus now to their coming clash with a young and enthusiastic St Albert's College side.
Stephen hopes they'll be able to maintain the patience demonstrated in the Elks' encounter.
"To be able to play some really disciplined and composed football is nice but we need to play that every week if we want to play past the end of the regular season in the finals," he said.
"We know we have got a very dangerous Albies side next Saturday that we have to prepare for and make sure put forward a performance that is enough to get the job done."