Taking on Orange City at Wade Park on Saturday, the Eagles were made to work early before turning a 17-0 half-time advantage into a fairly comfortable 38-7 triumph.

Eagles skipper Tim Berry was a happy man at full-time with Cowra now heading into games against Bulldogs, Dubbo and Emus with a full head of steam in the run into the finals.

The veteran second-rower says his side, the defending Blowes Clothing Cup premiers after being awarded the 2021 title despite no finals being played due to COVID, is determined to prove it belongs at the top of the tree in the Central West Rugby Union.

"(We're not playing with) a chip on the shoulder, it's more we want to prove Cowra is a good side and a good club," Berry said.

"We've got the quality to do it, and at the moment we're backing it up. We've got a tough road ahead ... we know there's a few challenges but we know if we put it together we'll do well."

They proved it again on Saturday against a young Lions side that was full of energy to open the game but battled to maintain that intensity for 80 minutes.

The Eagles managed to weather that early Lions barrage inside the opening 20 minutes, and when given a sniff made the most of the running.

The Eagles broke through for the game's first try after 22 minutes via an Ollie Dean five-pointer in the corner before crossing twice more in the next 10 minutes - firstly through Sullivan's first and then via a classy Bill Cummins effort close to the line.

That 17-point lead at the break was soon 24 points when Katoa grabbed his first five pointer of the game.

City enjoyed its best period of the clash after that, halfback Tom West plucking an intercept to race 60 metres down field before play ultimately broke down, while five minutes later veteran prop Josh Tremain managed to score for the Lions in the corner. West then nailed the conversion attempt from the chalk to ensure the Lions wouldn't leave their Wade Park return empty handed.

Katoa and Sullivan then completed their doubles to round out the first-versus-last route.

"We knew we had to knuckle down in the second half. I think we lost our way a bit ... but we finished well. Good signs," Berry added.

Lions captain Kieran Bonin said it was on his side to push the 'young team' excuse to the side and take ownership of the result over the final rounds of the 2022 season.

He said the key to doing that and jagging a couple of wins to end the year was shaping up at the contest.

"Cowra is winning the comp and that's the standard we need to be at, but we're not there. We can't play an 80 minute game. The mood in the sheds is flat," he said.

"At the end of the day we need to step up. At some point we have to flip the switch and own it. The reason Cowra is winning the comp is because they're an aggressive team. They've got that mongrel in them. We don't. Does that come down to maybe a young team? Maybe. But we're not using that excuse."

Cam Rasmussen enjoyed a strong debut in the centres for the Lions, earning praise from Bonin in the process.