The Orange United Warriors announced themselves as genuine Wallerawang Landscaping Cup threats on Saturday as Kurt Beahan's side kicked off the season with a 46-4 road blitz of the Kandos Waratahs.
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The travelling side came out like a house on fire, scoring the bulk of their points in the first half before the rain put a dampener on their offensive efforts in the latter stages of the contest.
While the scoreboard suggests it was an easy win for the Warriors, Beahan was quick to praise Kandos, highlighting the effort they put in from start to finish - despite being on the wrong end of a lopsided scoreline.
"I'll tell you what... they didn't stop coming," Beahan said.
"Their resilience probably put us off at the end of the game. We could have won by 80 but they didn't go away... full credit to them."
In Mid-west footy, weight of possession tends to dictate the final score more than most competitions and that was the story on Saturday as Beahan's boys scored early and often and didn't hand over the footy for most the opening quarter.
"We started really well. Possession was the key for us," he said.
"There were four or five sets where we scored off the kick-off so that's pleasing from a coach's point of view."
It doesn't matter how many points you win by, all good leaders will find areas in which to improve and aside for some ball-handling issues in the second half, the former CYMS gun wasn't happy with some of the playmaking decisions his men made.
"We had a few brain explosions and coach killers in there," he said.
"Some of the guys got a bit too excited and we went away from what we were trying to do but they're easy fixes."
You can't hate a first-up result like what the Warriors produced on Saturday but Beahan knows there's bigger fish to fry in the competition, starting with CSU who awaits United for a round three clash at Bathurst.
After the Carrington Park blockbuster, Oberon awaits the newly-formed side and Beahan knows the looming fortnight will reveal a lot about his team's potential this winter.
"CSU and Oberon are really tough sides... these two games coming up will really test us" he said.
Unfortunately for the club, the women's league tag side couldn't get off to the same start as the men did as they fell 26-12.
"Our women still have a bit of work to do," vice president Jason French said.
"They were still in the game at three-quarter time... Sutherland and Murphy were leading them around. It was a good hit out for them and they'll improve.
"Credit to the Kandos club as well. They put on a good day."
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