It wasn't the result they were looking for, but Rhinos Captain Matt Neill walked away satisfied with the performance his side put in against the Parkes Boars on Friday night.
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"I think we played pretty well, the intensity was good," Neill said.
"I felt that I was disappointed with some of the officiating, it was one of those games where I didn't agree with everything, certainly."
Officiating was a big factor in the last Rhinos loss to the Boars, and while Neil was disappointed to see it raise it's head again, this time around he felt it was more of a wind-change in how the culture of Rugby is shifting.
"It is a little bit frustrating, last game was more one call, whereas last night I felt it was more a particular area of our game in general that was being over-officiated perhaps," Neill said.
"I actually really think he's a good ref, he's one of the best we've got so it's not about him, I just feel like we'll have to look at the way we go about certain things and make some changes if Rugby is going to go the way it's going with certain contact charges and other areas."
The Boars managed a fourteen point lead over the Rhinos by the time the game was said and done, kicking strongly with Samuel Davis and converting three of their four tries in order to secure a 26 - 12 win at Spicer Park.
The first of the Rhinos tries came from Alexander Burke, one of the young standouts among the side who Neil sees a great deal of potential in.
"Burkey's really seemed to hit his stride, he's lightning quick and he's got a long stride, he's very hard to tackle because he changes directions very quick," Neill said.
"He's getting very confident out the back and I think he'll develop into quite a talented rugby player, he's very young."
"It's not the best year for us, but we've got a lot of young players on the come up, with a lot of promising signs."
"Burkey had a really good game defensively as well."
Jordan Fleming, who scored the Rhino's second try, also received favorable comments for a strong performance off the bench.
"He's been playing really well, he's one of those guys who makes a big difference when he's around," Neill said.
"He hooked in last night, we had an injury early on and he stepped up and got in and scored that second try off one of his first touches, a bit more of that in the coming few weeks would be a good way to finish."
The win will help keep the Parkes Boars in fifth place on the New Holland Agriculture Cup ladder, while the Rhinos remain winless heading into round 12.
Next week, the Boars will face ladder-leaders the Narromine Gorillas at home.
The Rhinos will travel to face the Blayney Rams at Blayney Rugby Club on Saturday July 6.
