Both teams were undefeated heading into the round three Southern Inland Rugby Union clash, but the Blacks came up just short away from home.

There was plenty of feeling in the game, and Vitucci said the Blacks didn’t focus on their job on the field.

“We got stuck into the niggle and didn’t play proper footy. That was the most disappointing thing,” Vitucci said.

“We probably only played 15 minutes of good footy the whole game.

“But full credit to Leeton. They’ve recruited well and played well on Friday and got the win.”

But Vitucci has no doubt it was a match the Blacks could have won if they kept their heads.

“We tried to tell the boys not to focus on the niggle and concentrate on rugby,” he said.

“Unfortunately, a few handling errors and a bit of a lack of discipline for most of the game cost us.

“We weren’t able to play to our strengths, really.

“We’ve got to take something from that and learn from it.”

The SIRU competition halts this week for the NSW Country Championships in Bowral, with Blacks co-coach Nick Gleeson and Griffith teammates Daniel Dowson and Chris Latu named in the association’s representative side. Vitucci said the break would give the Blacks a chance to assess their early season progress. 

“We’re happy with the start to the season we’ve had so far,” he said.

“It’s not ideal to have a loss, but it’s something that gives the boys a bit more focus and incentive to concentrate a bit more on their play and get to training.

“We obviously realise we’re not unbeatable, but there’s a lot of good positives to build on for our side.

“It’s going pretty well overall for us.”

Inside centre Dan Bozic was the Blacks’ lone try scorer against Leeton.

In other results on Friday night, Hay won 14-0 in reserve grade, while Leeton prevailed 31-12 in the women’s sevens competition.