The Maitland Blacks were their own worst enemy in their Newcastle and Hunter Rugby Union first round match against University.
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Sloppy errors and an inability to capitalise on momentum cost them, losing to the home team 24-15.
The Blacks will need to regroup ahead of Saturday’s match against Wanderers at Marcellin Park.
“We had a good effort last weekend but we obviously need to finish off our opportunities,” Blacks assistant coach Nick Wickham said.
“We dominated field position, but we struggled to capitalise on that field position.”
Wanderers are in fine form and will be backing up after a convincing 47-17 thumping of the Waratahs.
“Wanderers will be a big challenge for us,” Wickham said.
“We’re not worried about them, we’re more worried about ourselves attending to our own patterns and plays and so forth.
“If we play to the best of our ability, we’ll be very competitive.”
The Blacks are preparing for a physical encounter with Wanderers.
“We’ve been doing some work on our defence, which we know we’re going to need against Wanderers,” Wickham said.
“We’ll be working on our set pieces.
“We’re just trying to consolidate all the things we’ve been working on in the pre-season.
“It’s not about doing anything different.”
Maitland Blacks play Wanderers at Marcellin Park on Saturday at 3pm.
