"We definitely wanted it a bit more today."
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Those are the words of Manildra Rhinos prop Ben Sharpless who was part of a forward pack which dominated the middle of Jack Huxley Oval on Saturday and left the minor premiers within one win of another grand final appearance.
Having lost to the Trundle Boomers the week before, the Rhinos were at risk of elimination and faced an Orange United side keen to prove they belong alongside the Woodbridge Cup elite.
It was the home side who came out firing off the back of player-coach Ben McAlpline, who featured in just his fifth match of the season during the August 12 clash.
"There's been a few mix-ups at the back, so I just wanted to get out there and get involved," McAlpine said.
"There's a points cap in place as well and that's a lot of the reason I have been playing. I certainly wasn't planning on playing."
Tries to Manildra's Luke Petrie and Kaleb Mullins extended the Rhinos' lead to 16 and it looked as though the home side was going to run away with things.
"Our focus was on the start, that first 20 minutes and the boys pulled through early for us," McAlpine added.
"Having the two bigger boys (Sia Nimani and Saulala Houma) in the middle really helps. We lack size most weeks but having them back made a big difference."
But the outstretched arm of Warriors forward Kane Smith saw the Orange outfit narrow the deficit just before the half-time break.
The visitors kept this momentum when the two sides came out of the sheds and were rewarded when Randell Dowling barged his way across to make it 16-12.
But costly mistakes and a rampaging Rhinos forward pack meant that was as close as the Warriors came, as it finished 30-12 in favour of Manildra.
Sharpless said even when the Warriors started to male their run, the Rhinos weren't worried.
"We kept our head all game," he said.
"We know we can score points but we had to tidy our defence up a bit today and that's what we did."
Rhinos second-rower Nick Smith echoed those thoughts after the game.
"It's something we spoke about at training, that we needed to improve up the middle and it feels as though we did that and held our own and stuck in there with the bigger boys," he said.
"Obviously it's a bonus to come away with a big win because it helps get our confidence back."
Their next task? A trip to Canowindra to take on the Tigers for a spot in the grand final.
With the two sides having played each other in the final round of the regular season, McAlpine knew just how tough the task would be.
"They are the benchmark so we'll see what we can do," he added.
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