Ferguson Cup: Bathurst Bulldogs move into the competition lead with win over Dubbo Kangaroos

It wasn't just first place that Bulldogs took either, their success at Ashwood Park has also given the new members of the Bathurst outfit the confidence they can hold their own against a competition heavyweight.

"It was a very good win and it was actually a really good confidence booster for the girls as well," acting Bulldogs captain Mel Waterford said.

"We had to work really hard for our tries, like the score doesn't reflect the game itself, but it was really good team work. There are a lot of young girls who are only new this season who were quite involved with a lot of those tries.

"Jacinta [Windsor] had an absolute outstanding game, I thought she played really well on the wing and she's starting to grow in confidence. When she's trying to step players now she just does it with confidence and she looks like she has been doing it forever."

Since suffering an upset loss to Bulldogs in last season's grand final - it was the only defeat they incurred in 2020 - the Roos have once again staked their claims as premiership contenders with some quality rugby.

Over the first five rounds Roos went undefeated, notching up more than 50 points on three occasions and bettering fierce rivals Bulldogs by 10 points in their second outing.

Though they headed to Ashwood Park for round six with the likes of Lilliann Mason-Spice on the list of outs, Bulldogs too were missing big names such as injured skipper Mardi Watts, and NSW Country talent Marita Shoulders.

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Roos scored the only try of the first quarter as flyhalf Alahna Ryan charged over from a penalty tap, but from there momentum swung.

With Bulldogs' scrum dominating, their on field communication good and some brutal hits made in defence, the points came as well.

Firstly Kate Gullifer carried two defenders over the line with her, then Claudia McLaren - who had earlier been denied by a brilliant Ryan cover tackle - scored to give Bulldogs a 12-7 half-time lead.

From there the hosts went on with the job. Windsor bagged a hat-trick, McLaren crossed again while Waterford and Demi Chapman got on the scoresheet too in the bonus-point win.

"They were really tough in that first game and we kind of let them take the run of the game and play their game. It meant we had to chase, whereas on Saturday it was nice to start attacking and keep attacking," Waterford, who got through a power of work at lock, said.

"The communication really improved and we clicked together. I think the things we do at training, we started to pull off.

"A lot of first up tackles were made and there weren't a lot of line breaks either, like you really had to work to get over that advantage line. It was quite a physical game too, the hits were quite good."

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