The Ballarat Highlanders are riding high following their narrow victory over the rival Bendigo Fighting Miners in round eight of the Victorian Rugby Championship.
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Coach Karl Thin said his side showed great resiliency in the contest as they matched they matched Bendigo try-for-try.
"We were chasing for the majority of the 80 minutes," he said.
While the Highlanders were matching the Miners' try output, they were unable to send the ball through the posts, only connecting on one the their six conversion attempts.
A late try from debuting winger Cody McDonald game Ballarat a 30-28 lead, which they were able to hold onto for the victory.
Thin said the win has done a lot of his side's confident ahead of an important clash with Maroondah on Saturday.
"We might have underestimated the importance of the Bendigo game for their self-belief and confidence. We spoke about it on Saturday... it was the first time we've seen this group come together as a unit really well this season.
"As we go into the back part of the draw, our boys know they can make it happen and can come away with a win. The message is always the same, we've got to play our game, we're not going to be forced into doing something we don't want to do."
The Highlanders will be hoping for a measure of revenge against the second-placed Griffins, who defeated Ballarat in their first meeting of the season, winning 32-26 in Maroondah.
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