THREE penalty goals in five minutes - Kurt Weekes' sharp shooting in that period on Saturday certainly gave meaning to sinking the boot in.
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The Bathurst Bulldogs scrumhalf picked off the points in a period which proved crucial in his side's 26-20 Blowes Cup win over Orange Emus.
Before Weekes' string of successful penalties it had been a four-point game at Ashwood Park. After it Bulldogs led 21-8.
Then while Emus were still stewing over those penalties they conceded a try, Bulldogs centre Hunter Davis slicing through and finding flying winger Joe Kermode in support.
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Though Emus did launch a fightback after that period to set up a tense finish, Bulldogs held on for their second win over their great rivals this season.
"It was really frustrating, it was pretty hard to take to be honest, it was pretty hard to watch from the sideline and see the effort that all the boys were putting in but not seeing it flow up the field," Matt Campbell, Orange Emus' assistant coach, said.
"It was 26-8 at one stage, the flow was against us, we came back and scored a couple of tries and then nearly scored another one - but a forward pass against us, which was again pretty tough to take."
Though it was very much a frustrated Emus unit at full-time, Bulldogs coach Dean Oxley was happy to see the way his side improved as the contest unfolded.
"It was a very tough game, they were certainly up for it Emus, we knew they would be, we never have an easy game against Emus," he said.
"I thought we played a lot better than last week, we started to play more direct, but they disrupted our play and that's what's going to happen. We just have to be better at securing our possession.
"We have to play better football than that, but I'm happy with the way we played, our line out got better, our scrum got better.
For the opening quarter of the game it was Emus who enjoyed the better territory, applying plenty of pressure inside Bulldogs' 22.
But the hosts stood firm in defence and the only damage Emus inflicted was a Nigel Staniforth penalty goal.
With 14 minutes of the half remaining Bulldogs finally got some attacking possession and from it came a try.
Bulldogs kicked ahead then Weekes ankle-tapped Emus' winger Harry Cummins after he'd run across in cover and scooped up the ball.
Tom Felsch then kicked the ball before Emus secured it at the break down, it rolled towards the posts and it was Davis who dived on it.
Emus' came up with a swift reply from Staniforth, the centre muscling his way over on the left edge, but just before the break Bulldogs had their second.
Peter Fitzsimmons charged onto the ball from a quick penalty tap to draw in Emus' defence, Bulldogs then cleaning out quickly and spreading the ball to Brad Glasson who scored.
That gave Bulldogs a 12-8 half-time lead.
After the break the hosts pushed further ahead thanks to Weekes' boot and Kermode's try, but just as they did in round one, Emus mustered a fightback.
A smart grubber from scrumhalf Louis Carr, who was elusive all match, set up a try for George Jackson.
Alex McNiven then scored with 10 minutes left and Staniforth's conversion made it 26-20.
With 25 seconds left Emus mounted one final attack and created an overlap on the left edge, but a forward pass ruling ended their hopes.
"It meant a lot today," Oxley said of the win.
"Memorial day is really special to us, Brian Roberson came in and spoke to the boys before the game and handed out the jumpers, he really demonstrated what it was to be a Bulldog and the boys got around that.
"Emus to their credit, they are struggling with injuries but they're showing how much strength they've got in their club."
Though Campbell was a frustrated figure at full-time, he still found positives for Emus to draw from the contest.
He was proud to see his side, which has been hit hard by injury, push Bulldogs all the way to the final whistle and bring the sort of intensity the coaching staff has been calling for.
"Something that we're working on is that energy we bring to the game," he said.
"Against [Orange] City we were good, against Cowra we were a bit down, so it was really good to see the boys come out with that energy and really lift for that game.
"I mean Bathurst are close to the benchmark, the comp is pretty close up at the top and at the moment it's Cowra and Bathurst up the top, so to stick it to them was really impressive."
