Cessnock coach Al Lantry says Goannas were better team

“I do honestly think we were the better side. It’s a hard loss to wear,” Lantry said after the game.

“We missed three kicks at goal which would have made it 22-all. We have to make sure we stick with it now. I think one or two teams will get on a run and we want to be with them.”

The Goannas displayed their best and worst traits in the torrid affair which ended in a brawl in which forward Kurt Warden was sent off and centre Marvin Filipo sin binned for 10 mintues with 30 seconds to play.

The Goannas defensive effort was fantastic and their never-say-die spirit to summons a challenge when reduced to 11 men on the field midway through the second half was inspirational.

But those efforts stood in stark contrast to their failure to complete sets through either penalties or errors and handing back the ball to Maitland to continue to pile on the pressure.

“We played better when we had 11 at that point. I thought young Harry O’Brien made a big difference. Overall it’s disappointing but it’s a step forward, not a step back,” Lantry said.

“It was a very physical game and to Maitland’s credit they held on.

“I think they had seven more sets than we did in the first half. They had a lot of possession down our end. Out of the time we had the ball were only in their half three or four times.

“To weather the storm and go in at half-time 12-4 down I was happy with.

“I thought Maitland threw a lot at us and we defended well and it was very physical from both sides.

“The negatives were the penalties and the errors. 

“It’s just something we need to clean up. It was a total of 13 penalties we gave away, six in the first half and seven in the second and we just can’t win games doing that.

“In the second half there were six sets we didn’t complete. Add that and the penalties means we gave the ball to Maitland 13 more times.”

The Goannas have another Coalfields clash this week at Kurri Kurri followed by games against Central and Wests.