Orange Hawks coach Shane Rodney says his side needs to use their heavy defeat to Wellington Cowboys as a learning experience.
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Hawks went up the Mitchell Highway off the back of a strong opening win but left on the receiving end of some harsh lessons.
The young outfit lost 42-12 at Kennard Park as the home side ran in seven tries to two with Blake Ferguson scoring a double.
Rodney said it was a reality check for his side.
"It was a disappointing result and a real learning curve for some of the younger players," he said.
"PMP is a tough competition and you need to be up for it every week to compete.
"Wellington played really well and will be a tough road trip for anyone this year."
Rodney said his side needed to lift in attack and cited some individual defensive mistakes as areas to focus on when they face reigning premiers Dubbo CYMS at Wade Park on Sunday, May 12.
"The score line doesn't reflect it but I was happy with the team's effort for a lot of the game it was just some individual lapses at times which cost us," he said.
"We were quite clunky with ball in hand and had plenty of opportunities to score points but didn't really ask many questions of Wellington's defence so we'll keep working on this so everyone plays a better role.
"The majority of their tries came from one-on-one misses in defence which was disappointing. That comes down to application, want and desire.
"That will be our main focus for this week."
More fresh faces
Following on from debuts in round one against Lithgow Workies, Hawks handed first starts to Harry Kukla and Brodie Tarleton.
Rodney said he was glad to see more of Hawks' young crop make their way into first grade.
"I was really happy to give two players their debut, Harry Kukla and Brodie Tarleton.
"I thought both played well and will be better for the experience."
