The Bulls came out strong in front of a large Sponsors Day crowd at Weebolla Oval, leading their Narrabri rivals by about seven points at the end of the first half.

However, the home side failed to put any points on the board in the second half and, as a result, were defeated 29-15.

“The first half was really good, we were faultless,” Bulls first grade co-coach Mick Grant said.

“But like the last few games, we just couldn’t play the last 40 minutes. It felt like there was a lack of urgency.”

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Although missing a number of players due to injury and other commitments, Grant said the side that was picked should have performed “a lot better than they did”.

“It wasn’t anything to do with mistakes or discipline; the penalty count went our way, 14-9,” he said.

“It seemed like we had no possession of the ball, even though the penalties went our way.

“We were relying on our key players to score off every phase. We just dropped off the ball a bit. There was no enthusiasm.

“It was mainly that we couldn’t finish that last 40 minutes.”

Grant said Narrabri were strong on Saturday, as is always expected when the two sides meet.

“We always seem to perform well at Narrabri and they always seem to perform well at Moree,” he said.

“That’s how it’s been for years.

“They’ve always been strong finishers. We knew that at half time that the lead wasn’t enough. But we had a bad kick-off at the start of second half and straight away lost the ball and we just couldn’t recover.”

Narrabri’s inside backs played particularly well, “suffocating” the Bulls.

“Their cover defence was outstanding, it created havoc for us,” Grant said. 

“We had no respect for the ball. The ball turned over a number of times. Once we get the ball we need to string phases together or better sides will punish us for it.”

Ben Williams and Jaime Sampson once again had top games, while Will Carrigan played well in the foward pack.

Despite the loss – which Grant said was a “disappointing start to our semis campaign” – the Bulls managed to finish the season in second spot, eight points behind Tamworth Pirates and just two points in front of third-placed Walcha and fourth-placed Narrabri.

The Bulls will now have a week off before meeting Pirates in the major semi-final.

“That’s our big focus for the next two weeks,” Grant said.

“We’ll be working on just protecting our ball and getting more clean ball for our backs and stringing phases together.

“We’ll also do a lot of work on defence and one-on-one tackles and making them count.”

Grant said they should have a full-strength squad back on deck for the finals.