The Pride Park Hall of Famer was part of an infamous incident in May of 2019 as he was hospitalised by a punch from an Eagles' player, and Tremain hasn't laced up the boots against the red and whites since.

It was a tough 90 minutes for the 2020 grand finalists as they fell to the home side 43-7, and while Tremain felt guilty for opting to sit the game out, he knows everyone at the club supports his choice.

"I felt like I let the boys down a bit but I don't think they see it that way," Tremain said.

"I'm planning to play them in the next round at home but whether I ever play there again, I'm not sure.

"It was a big decision to make but I'm happy I did it."

Tremain had the luxury of Orange City's live stream as he analysed the tape from home.

"We had everything stacked against us in the game but the boys never gave up," he said.

"I'm not worried about the result... we'll be right and we'll bounce back.

"There's obviously a lot to work on but they're a good side and it's never easy to win there. To still be in the fight after everything that went against us, I'm proud of them."

The Lions had several players scratched before the kick-off, leaving them drastically short-staffed.

The Eagles still had a job to do and would have felt the pressure after sustaining a one-sided round one loss to rivals Forbes.

Cowra coach Col Kilby was content with the outcome but knows there's still plenty of improvements to be made before the third round.

"We aimed to get the win so that was good," he said.

"We obviously put 40 points on the board but I think we really stuck to the game plan of what we could have done and gave Orange City every opportunity in the second half.

"We spoke at halftime about discipline, before the second half. There's a bit to work on there. It's a little bit disappointing we didn't really put the foot on the throat. We really pushed the game on.

"We spoke about discipline and it was definitely a downside of the performance today and gave Orange City every opportunity to stay in the game by the penalties but we got there. We Got the points, got the win and it kicks us off after a year out of footy, we were always going to be a bit rusty."

Eagles will return home in round three for a clash against Bathurst Bulldogs after the latter sustained a razor close loss to Kangaroos on Saturday. City will play the second of a three-game away stand as they visit Forbes.

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