The New England men might not have won a game in their return to the NSW Country Championships fold but coach Andrew Jack believes the weekend was a stepping stone towards being competitive again.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
It was a big effort from the Lions just to get on the field after not being able to rustle together a side last year.
They did still this year need the help of a few reinforcements from outside the zone, but encouragingly had a lot of new faces putting their hands up to be involved in the program.
Jack thought "considering the interruptions and preparation" the side did "extremely well".
"We managed to score in all of our games against much stronger opposition and crowd feedback was that it was very exciting rugby to watch," he said.
The most impressive part for him was that they "never had their heads down".
"No matter what the size of the opposition was they always fought hard and made the opposition work to get their tries," he said.
After losing their games on Saturday, to Western Plains 21-10 and then eventual Richardson Shield champions Hunter 43-7, to end their silverware hopes they had to face arch-rivals Central North in their play-off game on Sunday.
The Lions couldn't have asked for a better start with Mitch Bowen scoring inside the first minute after a mistake from the kick-off from the Kookaburras.
It happened so quickly even Jack missed it.
"I was putting kit away and next you know they said they've scored," he said.
It would turn out to be the only points they scored with the Kookaburras powering to a 29-5 win.
Jack singled out captain Blake Clout as a standout for them.
"He led from the front, same with his vice-captain Harry Mills, [he] didn't take a step backwards," he said.
He also made mention of half-back Liam Salmon and fullback Adam Mrtynek. Also thanking the players that came in to help out, he said everyone had their moment.
"Everyone at some stage or another stepped up above what they're normally used to and got on with playing the game," he said.