Whether it was a matter of finesse, confidence or hunger is up for interpretation, what's clear is the Mudgee Dragons sent a message to their Peter McDonald Premiership opponents on Saturday; fear us.
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From kick-off, their taste for triumph was stronger than that of the Dubbo Macquarie Raiders who, despite their best efforts, failed to contain the Dragons in a 34-26 result.
An experienced Ben Thompson was loud throughout and provided a huge amount of encouragement for his side in an inspiring effort that was backed up by the ever-respected captain-coach and five-eighth, Jack Littlejohn.
Played as a curtain-raiser to the Manly-Canberra NRL clash at Glen Willow, the match gave Mudgee plenty to play for and it was they who scored the first try in the new western-wide competition on just six minutes.
Jake Gale dived over for the opener, which was converted by Lee Hicks, and then just four minutes later the lead grew when Jared Robinson went over.
The Raiders - who were without injured captain-coach Alex Ronayne and went in after a disrupted and COVID-hit pre-season - were scrappy throughout but got on the board for the first time through Western Rams back-rower Corey Cox.
The Raiders scored again through Filisione Pauta before the Dragons had Chad Chandler squeeze through to get the next for the locals.
Just one minute later Jake Durrant scored for the hosts to give them a 22-10 half-time lead and plenty of momentum.
The Raiders were the first over the line following the break with off-season recruit Joshua Nixon bringing his side four points closer to their opponents.
Mudgee's Hicks replied four minutes later and converted his own try, and with 15 minutes to go fullback Nathan Orr got his first try of the season to put the Dragons in complete control.
With 11 minutes left on the clock, Clayton Daley's try put some faith into the Raiders and Eric Fernando also scored but it wasn't enough as it finished 34-26.
Despite heading into the first match of the new season unsure what to expect, Littlejohn was pleased to get the win in front of his home crowd.
"I'm pretty gassed after that. Getting two points at home...I'm sure there will be a few beers tonight," he said.
"It's hard because you're playing against teams you've never seen play before, you don't know their calibre of players. It was a bit daunting not really knowing what you were up against.
"We came away with a win which is pleasing but there were a lot of penalties, a lot. When we fix that up, we'll be good."
Raiders outside back and Western representative CJ Ralph said despite the result there was positives but the biggest issue was ball control and missed tackles as well as getting the new-look side to gel.
"We came in confident, we've got a good side on paper. It was the first time all of us boys played together, it was just the mistakes that let us down," he said.
"It was pretty close in the end, we had plenty of opportunities but we just had mistakes, we've got to work on our ball security.
"They've a tough side, they kept us in the game, they're pretty competitive. They look like they've got a strong side, I wish them all the best."
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