SHOALHAVEN coach Paul Connor spent the past week drilling one message into his team.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Discipline.
After two games of mounting penalty counts, Connor knew his team had to improve in that area if they were to triumph over Tech on Saturday.
Ultimately the message sunk in, with the Shoalies claiming a tense 29-28 win on the road.
And in a pleasing turn of events for Connor, it was a late penalty awarded to his side that enabled Shoalhaven to secure the victory.
The Tahs scored with less than 10 minutes to go to hit the front, however the visitors remained calm and worked their way into attacking field position.
Eventually a penalty was awarded and Mark Brandon stepped up to nail the match-winning goal.
"We have had discipline problems down here," Connor said. "We made it a focus during the week to keep the penalty count down. It was the first time in a long time we've been on the right side of the penalty count.
"We defended well against some bigger bodies, that really kept us in the game. We didn't have an awful lot of ball, but we defended well.
"It was a well deserved win, we stuck to it, didn't give up and maintained our composure. That was the biggest thing, we maintained our composure for the full 80 minutes."
While the Shoalies conceded four tries in the one-point win, Connor was pleased with his side's defence against a much bigger forward pack.
The challenges don't get any easier for Shoalhaven, with the side to host defending premiers Avondale next weekend.
The Wombats sit at the top of the Illawarra Rugby table after claiming a 33-19 win over Shamrocks on Saturday. The Shoalies are fourth.
Connor knows his team faces a tough task next week, but he's confident the side is continuing to improve with each game they play.
"Avondale won't get much bigger than Tech. They'll be fitter, but they don't get much bigger than that pack.
"Tech have quite a large pack, so it was a good warm up for Avondale next week.
"Particularly for some of our Irish lads, they don't come up against too many Islanders playing in Ireland. The only islanders they play are Irish, so it was a bit of a surprise to them."
Connor also added his voice to the growing group of coaches who are hopeful the decision not to play finals can be reassessed in the coming weeks.
While the matter was seemingly put to bed at an Illawarra board meeting earlier this month, a number of clubs, including Tech, Avondale and Vikings, remain frustrated the current schedule doesn't include finals.
"It's a very short season and still a little questionable how the season will finish," Connor said. "Semi-finals may or may not occur.
"If semi-finals get played, we'll be in contention for the top four. Avondale will be a good challenge for us, they've been the team to beat for umpteen years. I'm confident we can give them a good shake."
Saturday's other games saw Vikings edge Campbelltown 19-18 and Kiama secure their first win of the season, with a 25-11 victory over Camden.