Cairns City Lions were missing the polish required to run past a brave Manunda Hawks at Holloways Beach on Saturday.
But the Lions went home happy that much improvement was made after an embarassing loss one week ago.
The Lions were humiliated by North Cairns in the opening round of the season but stuck with last year's grand finalists Hawks on the weekend.
The Hawks were set to run away with the match when they opened up a five-goal buffer heading into the final quarter but the Lions rallied to get within two goals.
Two costly misses would haunt the hosts though, who watched as a crucial intercept gave Manunda an easy six points and gave them a buffer as the clock wound down.
"The Hawks had a real go and they've done well to get a side that competitive together after losing so many players," Lions coach Jason Roe said.
"But we missed a chance there. The polish we needed and the composure we needed when under pressure was missing.
"The frustrating thing is we have it, it's just sitting there (injured) on the bench and can't come back soon enough."
Roe's Lions face Centrals this Friday night at Crathern Park, who aim to improve after another big loss on Saturday.
South Cairns Cutters piled on the points in the 27.15 (177) to 13.4 (82) victory. Mick Marham and Damien Dewis both booted five goals to be among the Cutters' best.
Last Modified on 08/05/2013 13:57