The Blues outlasted Port Sharks 16-4 in an enthralling contest at Lank Bain Sports Complex on Sunday that secured them second spot on the ladder.

It now means they will host a semi-final on August 5 against third place for the right to progress to a clash with Port City – and within one win of the season decider.

Coach Anthony Boyd believed his side “can go all the way if we do our work and knuckle down.”

“But we can’t get ahead of ourselves,” he said.

“We’ll worry about next week first and the week after that and the competition will look after itself.”

In Aaron Ison’s 150^th game for the club, the Blues started slow and conceded the first try to Sharks centre Willie Baker.

The home side hit back when Sam Watts crossed to give them a 6-4 lead to the break in a first half performance coach Anthony Boyd labelled as “dumb” at times.

Their second-half defence held firm and repelled the Sharks, holding them up over the line on at least three different occasions.

“The defence was outstanding; they threw a lot of good footy at us and we kept aiming up,” Boyd said.

“We’ve got a real tough footy side there and something I can work with.”

Blues fullback Tristan Scott was a constant threat in attack and provided the final pass for Jamie Tracey’s second-half try that gave the home side some breathing space.

“Tristan’s got class; he’s got that little bit of touch about him,” Boyd said.

“That’s why we moved him back there when he sweeps in with his ball playing, he’s got that ability and (gives us) that third option as a half.”

Boyd said it was a collective team effort.

“The forwards were outstanding, the halves were good; we’re not a one-man band, we work for each other and that’s what gets us the wins,” he said.

The Sharks again fell foul of the officials with Willie Baker and captain-coach Jake Hawkins spending time in the sin-bin along with Blues centre Beau White.

Hawkins refused to blame his own side’s lack of discipline as the contributing factor to the loss.

“Everyone gets involved in the niggle and it’s an aggressive sport, but that’s something we can work on,” he said.

“That’s an individual thing more than a team thing and sometimes it might get the better of us.

“They were better than us today and we’ve got to cop that on the chin.”

The defeat now means anything less than two wins from their final two matches could see the Sharks miss the finals.

“It makes it tougher that we lost so we need to win the next two games,” Hawkins said.

“If we win next week we’ll play Wingham in the last round for third spot so it’s another challenge we need to overcome and accept that’s just the way it is.”