For any neutrals at Endeavour Oval on Saturday, their entry fee was well worth it in a thrilling contest.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Orange Emus played host to Bathurst Bulldogs in a high-scoring affair with nine tries scored.
Ultimately though, Emus were their own worst enemy as the clinical goal-kicking of Bulldogs' half-back, Kurt Weekes, got his side home off the back of three penalty goals.
"It was an entertaining game, we played some entertaining football in patches and scored some decent tries but we let them back in and gave them too many opportunities and you can't do that against a side like Bathurst - they'll take every opportunity you give them," Orange's coach Peter Bromley said.
"Ill discipline gave them a few penalty goals hence we ended up on the bad side of the scoreboard."
With Emus travelling to Forbes next week, Bromley said the biggest lesson comes from maintaining possession.
"We can't piggy back sides out of trouble," he said.
"We need to focus on getting some ball, we had about 30-40 per cent possession. The ball we did have we were able to score five tries but you can't give away penalties and expect to win games."
While a first round loss is never ideal, there were positives to take out of the game with Charles Henley, Archie Weston, Charlie Steele-Park, Nicholas Crowley and the returning Archer Hall scoring tries.
"I said to the boys after, I'm happy we got two points for five tries with the bonus point and finishing within seven," Bromley said.
"It's week one of a 15-week season before finals, you bank all the points you get now and improve every week.
"Results matter in April but you don't win grand final's in April."
Saturday also included the first grade club debuts of Ollie Harvison, Fangatua Solomahe, Simon Uphill and Charlie Steele-Park along with the return of Hall in the front row.
"They all went well, they definitely put in a big effort for a club they've been at for one week," Bromley said.
"It was great to have Archie back and sure up the scrum, we were able to get a bit of scrum pressure on them which is always nice but obviously didn't get the result.
"It's a good base to work from and I'm happy with where we are, there's lots of improvement to come."
BATHURST BULLDOGS 35 (Adam Plummer, Bryce Rue, Joe Kermode, Benjamin Sheppeard tries; Kurt Weekes 3 conversions, Kurt Weekes 3 penalties) defeated ORANGE EMUS 31 (Archie Weston, Charlie Steele-Park, Archer Hall, Nick Crowley, Charlie Henley tries; Nigel Staniforth 3 conversions)
To read more stories, download the Central Western Daily news app in the Apple Store or Google Play.
HAVE YOUR SAY
- Send a letter to the editor using the form below ...