Quirindi were like lions on the hunt on Saturday.
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After stalking Walcha in the first half they then pounced on their prey in the second half to notch their second win of the season.
Up 22-8 at the break, the home side ran in four tries in 11 minutes to pull away to a 42-8 lead midway through the second half before kicking on for a 61-20 victory.
Just what the doctor ordered after being thrashed by Narrabri the previous week, for coach Jack Parfitt the most impressive part wasn't the game itself but the attitude they showed at training during the week.
That was where the result was built; Saturday "the gift" for their hard work.
"They were in a dark place and the boys turned up [to training] on Tuesday and carried it through to Thursday and today," he said.
He said the turnaround was a real credit to the heart, and belief, of the side.
It would have been easy to have not rocked up to training on Tuesday and be content being competitive and picking up a win here and there.
But the Lions truly believe they can play finals this season.
Granted the Rams were down on troops (they had to forfeit second grade) and missing some key players - coach and front row stalwart Richie Hunt watched from the sidelines in a cast after breaking his arm against Moree the previous week, as did star centre Pat Keen (ankle complaint) while fullback Ed Churchill was away - but Parfitt felt like it really all started to come together.
"I mentioned sticking to the script and it was good today," he said.
"The boys were patient, they shut their mouths when they needed to and just stuck to what we're good at and played that well and they each complemented each other."
It had loomed as a good test for the Lions. The Rams were coming in off the back of three straight wins, Narrabri and Moree among them, and were showing themselves to be finals contenders.
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And for the first half an hour or so it was a bit of an arm wrestle, a double to winger Jye Paterson helping the home side to a 17-8 lead.
By then probably just starting to get on top with the Rams noticeably missing some of their attacking potency with no Churchill or Keen and lacking the same urgency as the Lions, a try in the final minute to half-back Daniel Calavassy pushed their advantage out to 14 points at the break.
Parfitt said it took a bit of the pressure off, but at the break heeded a warning to his charges about what happened against Inverell earlier in the season. Then they led 35-12 at half-time before holding on to win 45-36.
"I said 'no complacency, let's get out and do it all again'," he said.
Which they did.
From centre Nicholas' Hooley's ninth minute try it was a pretty complete domination.
"With no complacency they built their confidence up and credit to Walcha, it's tough, we were in that position last week, but once you've got confidence and momentum it's a hard thing to take away," Parfitt said.
Hooley and Calavassy both finished with doubles along with Paterson and No.8 Hamish Dunbar.
For the Rams the bye will be a welcome reprieve after picking up a couple of injuries.
Elsewhere Gunnedah snapped their four game losing run in Inverell but the barest of margins, 26-25, to remain on top of the table while Moree beat Scone 38-15.
