If the Dubbo Demons are going to win the Tier 1 AFL Central West title this year then they are going to have to do it the hard way.
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The Demons slipped out of second place on the ladder for the first time this year after losing to the Bathurst Giants on Saturday 10.10.70 to 17.9.111.
Demons coach Terry Lyons knows his side isn't lacking effort but believes their execution is still lacking in some areas.
"The effort is there, it's just a lot of mistakes are costing us at the moment which we have three weeks to tidy up," he said.
"Otherwise it will just be another season, unfortunately."
Sam Sloan kicked nine goals for the Giants while Nic Broes chipped in five of his own for the Bathurst side as they moved into the top two.
Lyons had nothing but praise for the Giants who have now beaten the Demons in three straight matches.
"They are a well-drilled team, Mark Kennedy (Giants coach) certainly has them firing at the right time of the season like he said he would," he said.
"They've got some quality players in the Brien brothers (Cooper and Bailey) along with Sam Sloan."
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For the Demons, Isaac Heath kicked seven goals in a losing side while Bevan Charlton-White was strong in the midfield, often pushing back to help in defence.
The Demons coach believes the pair were very strong on Saturday.
"They were definitely stand-outs," he said.
"I thought our backline did pretty well too, even though they were under fire.
"There were quick balls in there which is always hard to mark up on, when we were able to play it at our pace they almost couldn't get the ball in their forwards.
"When the ball came in quickly they were very, very efficient."
While the Giants had more than 40 inside 50s, they failed to capitalise on them while the Demons were efficient, taking their chances.
"Our efficiency going inside 50 was better, we just didn't do it that often," Lyons said.
"Their midfield really worked hard on their defence and it showed up a few holes in our game plan by doing that.
"Full credit to them, they were the much better team on the day."
Now sitting in third on the ladder, the Demons will now likely travel to Bathurst in a few weeks' time to take on the Giants in the semi finals to get a chance at playing the undefeated Bushrangers the following week.
The women's side also lost their match to the Giants who have now all but secured the minor premiership with two rounds remaining.
The Tier 2 men's side won via forfeit on Saturday and will play their last game before finals this weekend.
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