In what was was their first game alongside each other at senior level, the pair orchestrated a second half fight-back after the Butchers produced perhaps their best 40 minutes of the season in the opening stanza to lead 16-4 at the break.

The home side extended the lead to 22-4 through Eric Newbigging immediately following the resumption and looked well in command but it was all the visitors from there.

Blake Phillips crossed to complete his double before Adam Clune laid on tries for Kyle Eather and Greg Davis with kicks and crossed himself after break from his brother to take the lead 24-22. 

The Butchers mounted one last assault on the Dogs line with five minutes remaining but couldn’t find the go-ahead try with the elder Clune crossing for a late four-pointer to seal the win.

“Sam’s only been with us for a couple of weeks but I thought his impact and his combination with his brother was really good and I think in the next few weeks it’ll develop,” Fien said.

“It’s good that when the chips we were in that situation, 22-4, down that guys like that still think the game’s within reach and they kept trying and kept throwing things up.

“I was pretty worried the way we started that second half conceding a pretty soft try but to the boys credit we were able to dig our way out and it shows there’s a lot of spirit in the team.

“It’s what you look for as a coach, when you’re down who’s going stand up and we had 17 guys stand up. 

“I don’t think we were overly bad in the first half I just thought they played really well which we expected from them at home.

“ I was still pretty comfortable with what we were doing we just probably weren’t patient enough. The second half was exactly what we spoke about at halftime. We needed to get back in the grind and I think we completed 16 of 19 so that was pleasing.”

Frustrated Butchers coach Jarrod Costello was left hoping the result doesn’t come back to haunt them at season’s end.

“There’s no excuses, we were in a position to win it but we just weren’t good enough to finish it off,” Costello said.

We had two chances late in the game there and we couldn’t execute and score any points so it’s one that got away and the boys are pretty filthy.

“We played really well in the first half but we gave them way too much ball in the second and they played through the middle of us which was disappointing. 

“I hope at the end of the year that doesn’t cost us.”