Although the Panthers ultimately prevailed, the Boars were a chance to win what was a closely fought contest, as they trailed 22-20 with 15 minutes to go.

Indeed, coach Gavin Hann “thought at that stage we had the game”, but with the rugby league contest in the balance, it was Wee Waa not Moree who took their chances.

According to Hann, it was the story of the game for the Boars, who failed to capitalise on four clear scoring opportunities, including one when they were held up over the line, and another when the ball was dropped with the tryline open.

“We had our opportunities,” he said, but “Wee Waa were probably a little sharper than us on the day”.

Despite the seven tries to four defeat, Hann was quite pleased with the way his team performed against what he called “the best side in the competition”.

The Boars “played well”, he said, and their “defence was pretty good”.

He lamented the cancellation of last week’s trip to Gunnedah, which he said “didn’t do us any real favours”, as Moree were “really on a roll” after consecutive wins.

With three games to go, the loss has dealt a serious - though not fatal - blow to the Boars’ chances of making the top four.

Thanks to losses to fourth-placed Gunnedah (18 points) and fifth-placed Norths (18), last-placed Moree (16) can still sneak into the finals.

But things don’t get any easier for the Boars. After losing to second-placed Wee Waa, they are drawn to face the ladder leaders, West Lions, at Boughton Oval on Sunday.

In the other grades, Moree had two wins and a loss.

The reserve graders won 38-8, to cement fourth position, and set up a four-point gap on Norths in fifth.

The two teams occupy the same positions in the under-18s - and thanks to Moree’s vital 14-8 win over Farrer, the gap remains at three points.

In the under-16s, fourth-placed Farrer (18) had a 22-12 win, eliminating fifth-placed Moree (11) from finals contention.