Boggabri Kangaroos led early but fell away late when beaten 32-20 by Armidale Rams in Saturday's trial match in Armidale.
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Kangaroos coach Shane Rampling thought it a good hit out for his side as it prepares for its opening round game against Narrabri on Saturday, April 9.
"We led 16-6 after the opening quarter but fell away a bit after that," Rampling told Group 4 Media.
"We were missing 11 first graders so there was a lot of inexperience at the senior level out there. But they showed some promise. It was a good opportunity for the younger players too."
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He thought Cameron Kerr "went really well".
"He ran hard, tackled hard. Stino Pensoni was real good too. Ran the ball hard and got some good go-forward," he added.
Rhyce Kliendienst was another to impress Rampling while Rob Doolan was dangerous out wide in the centres.
That Ben Haire was able to "have 10 minutes" was another good point for the prop returning from a serious knee injury.
"I was pretty happy with that," Rampling said of Haire's valuable match practice and the overall performance of his side.
"That's it for us, we've got Narrabri at home in two weeks. Two weeks to prepare for a big match. All in all we have a few things still to work on."
That the Roos bombed three tries is also something Rampling will be working upon in that preparation for the massive local derby opener at Jubilee Oval.
