Despite being hit by injuries Bulldogs were just far too good for the battling Lions, proving far superior than the hosts in every facet of the game and particularly at scrum-time, and the Bathurst side scored a mountain of points as a result of that.

The rout started virtually from the opening whistle as Bulldogs scored three tries inside the opening 10 minutes before going on to lead 41-0 at half-time, but even with the result well and truly sown up they never took their foot off the gas.

That’s what impressed head coach Dean Oxley the most, too.

“Being able to play that entire 80-minute game was one massive thing we’ll take away from it,” he said.

“Staying disciplined and finishing games off, really putting them away, is something we want to be doing and will need to be doing come the back end of the season so it was really pleasing to do that [on Saturday].”

He also pointed to the utter ruthlessness his side showed as another positive, especially considering it’s something Bulldogs have lacked a little bit at crunch time in recent seasons.

“Definitely, it’s something we’ve been needing and it’s nice to see that ruthless streak come out,” Oxley said.

“Another positive aspect was our bench, and their efforts. We rolled the guys on at different times and even though we’ve had a few injuries there’s a lot of depth.

“They all came on and didn’t miss a beat, it was good for those guys to be able to get some opportunity and really slot into our structures and that sort of thing with ease.”

Riley Hanrahan and Harry Peacock both scored hat-tricks in the gargantuan win, and Oxley heaped praise on both, but not entirely for their try-scoring exploits.

“Riley is still new to rugby, he’s an elite hockey player and he’s still learning this game, but he’s doing really good things at the moment,” he said.

“He scored those tries but that’s not what impressed me the most about his effort on Saturday, it was more his decision-making, particularly in defence, and his work at the breakdown, which is really something we’re trying to incorporate with our outside backs.

“Harry Peacock, he got his chance through injury as a lot of players have this year. We’ve had 30 or so players start in first grade this year and it’s all been through injury, but he’s really taken his chance.

“He scored those tries but like Riley, that’s not what it was about. It’s his work off the ball, it’s incredible.

“Adam Miles, in the centres, was another guy that really impressed me on Saturday. He’s been really good for our side all season and a lot of his work often goes unnoticed.”

Haydn Christie-Johnston, Peter Fitzsimmons, Mils, Josh Weekes, Alex Weal, Josh Oxley, Harry Webber and Ben Sheppeard all scored tries as well, with Weekes slotting eight of his conversion attempts to collect a 21-point individual haul.

The loss keeps Bulldogs three points behind competition leaders Orange Emus, they trail only on bonus points, while Orange City remains anchored to the bottom of the table, 17 points behind fifth-placed Forbes.

It doesn’t get any easier for the Lions next week as they face Emus in the third all-Orange derby of the season, while Bulldogs travel to Cowra to face the Eagles, who are coming off a loss to defending champions Forbes.

“That’s going to be a big game, we’re looking forward to that one and I think there’ll be some real feeling in it,” Oxley said.

“They’re obviously coming off their first loss in a few weeks, since we beat them actually, so I’m sure they’ll want to bounce back and obviously they’ve got the (Intrust Super) Shute Shield game (between Eastwood and Northern Suburbs) that day as well.”