Pirates picked straight back up where they left off last season, the new faces blending into the premiers' well-oiled machine with seeming ease as they kicked-off their title defence with a 56-14 win over Quirindi at Ken Chillingworth Oval on Saturday.
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Winger Sam Bowden scooted over for Pirates first try of the season only four minutes in and from there there seemed an inevitability about the result.
Debutant Jimmy Schwager took them past the half-century in the final minute with virtually his first touch of the ball after skipper Conrad Starr had minutes earlier crossed for his second of the game.
Coach Mat Kelly was a satisfied man afterwards.
There were a few moments of rustiness but not a lot to complain about, aside from their goal-kicking, which "needs a lot of work". They converted only three of their 10 tries.
"There were good signs going forward," Kelly said, highlighting the "effort everyone put in" as one of the most pleasing aspects of the performance.
That was best-illustrated in the final minutes of the first half when they held the Lions out for around three minutes on their line.
"That was massive there," he said. "That was something we spoke about - not letting in any points."
He was subsequently disappointed to concede two tries in the second half, but they were rare blemishes in an otherwise strong defensive performance.
Led by ever-green prop Bart Leach, who picked up the zone three three best and fairest points, they complimented that with some strong work at the breakdown, pilfering several turnovers in the tackle.
Leach provided one of the first half highlights, bursting through the line from around half-way like a back, and outsprinting the Lions' chasers.
On the back of no pre-season, second rower Andrew Wynne was also massive for the home side.
"I had to pull him out of retirement," Kelly said, a car trip to Dubbo doing the trick.
At the other end of the spectrum Brandon Parry, one of four players making either their debut or starting debut, showed a lot of promising signs at five-eighth. Part of Pirates' under-19s premiership-winning team in 2017, Parry played league last season although was consigned to the sidelines for a lot of it after breaking his leg.
"He's a footballer," Kelly remarked.
"The more experience he gets in grade he'll grow and grow."
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He liked what he saw from Parry and Jackson Sharpe in the halves, their ready-made combination a factor in Parry starting at 10 as they look for a replacement for Andrew Moodie.
"They've played a lot of footy together. They've grown up together and they've played a lot of oztag together," Kelly said.
For the Lions too there was a lot to be encouraged by. It was a huge improvement on their two encounters last season.
"I'm really pleased, it was a great result," coach Col McKenzie said.
"We knew we were up against it."
But he thought there was a lot to take heart from for what is a young side, especially in the backs with all bar five-eighth Jake Murray in their late teens.
Sure there are areas they "really need to work on" like their tackling, but they also produced some of their best football for several seasons.
"That last 10 minutes of the first half was the best rugby Quirindi has played for years," McKenzie said.
"We were on top of them. That was where we wanted to be, and we did it in patches."
Outside centre Ben Grant scored both of the Lions tries and was a standout, picking up the players' player and three points.
