It may not have been the most enthralling game of Rugby, but Western Force skipper Matt Hodgson was just happy to record their first 2016 win.
Coming off a narrow loss in round one, Force winger Luke Morahan scored the lone try of the match in the 80th minute.
Hodgson praised the Force defence after the match.
"It was a tough encounter," Hodgson said.
"I'm proud of the boys, I think our defence really held out tonight.
"We were a lot smarter about our decisions."
The Force backrowers struggled to make a significant impact against in round one, but they had no such trouble at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
"As a backrow we were disappointed with our contact (vs the Rebels),” Hodgson said.
"We thought that if we won that battle, won that contact area, we'd go a long way to winning the game.
"When they were attacking our line a few times we made some right decisions with big defensive plays”
Hodgson continued to lead from the in defence, making another 13 tackles to go with his 17 last week.
He will bear the scars of that effort in weeks to come, re-opening a cut that required 14 stitches last week.
"Another day another stitch," he said.
The Western Force face another challenge next weekend, hosting competition leaders the Brumbies next Friday night.
Force coach Michael Foley said they would be acutely aware of the test they will face in Perth.
"I thought the Waratahs did well to be even (with the Brumbies) at halftime given that they played with 14 men for 20 minutes," he said.
“But the Brumbies were very good at taking their chances in the second half."
