Bathurst Bulldogs defeat Orange City Lions in Blowes Clothing Cup's fifth round

Halfback Kurt Weekes was given his marching orders with a straight red card just 24 minutes into the game, after he caught barnstorming Lions prop Sia Nemani with a lazy swinging arm across the face.

Although Nemani wasn't injured, referee Brandon Kreymborg had no option but to give Weekes an early shower with the score at 10-5 in the visitors' favour, the Lions barging over from the resulting penalty to take back the lead.

The two sides, who share a long and storied rivalry, traded tries throughout the remaining 55 or so minutes of the clash until the dying stages when the hosts had one final raid, but when turned away by the 14-strong Bulldogs' line.

Bulldogs coach Mick Leseberg wasn't willing to go as far as calling the bonus-point victory a complete success, performance wise, but conceded any win on the road is a good one.

Particularly considering the nature of this year's competition, until Saturday just one side had won on the road and that was a technicality, being Emus' victory over the Lions at Wade Park the previous week.

"Any win at Pride Park is a good win, it's the coldest place on earth," Leseberg said.

"Losing a man after 25 minutes was tough, but we worked our way back into the contest really well.

"I thought our wingers were exceptional today, Buzz Webber and Adam Plummer. Tom Natoli was another really good one and Scott Johnson... well, he wound the clock back about a decade."

The victory keeps the 2019 premiers in third spot on the ladder, stumbling slightly earlier in the season after roaring out of the blocks with a round one win over Emus.

"I don't know if we were ready for Emus when we first played them. We just came out hard and managed to get the win," Leseberg admitted.

"We've got 15 really talented blokes out there but we're still working on playing as a team. We're developing really well as a squad."

Webber crossed for a double in the victory and Plummer scored as well, justifying Leseberg's praise.

Orange City five-eighth Traye Hodge once again provided plenty of spark in crossing for two of his own.

The loss leaves the Lions sitting fifth with one victory, however their knack of picking up bonus points - which they've done every week - keeps them propped above last-placed Dubbo Kangaroos.

The Dubbo side has won two games but remain equal with Orange City on competitions points, having picked up just one bonus point through the opening five rounds.

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