Playing at No.1 Oval in what could be a semi-final preview, Emus were too good for the hosts, winning 41-15 in their Blowes Cup match.

After a tough week against Bathurst Bulldogs in their previous game, the Roos needed to come out firing, something Will Michell feels they could have done better.

"I think we definitely started slow and that didn't help us," he said.

"I think we've got a bit of a habit of doing that at the moment so we've got to get it out of our system.

"We had three or four guys debut in first grade today so that certainly showed but they stepped up in certain ways.

"They had big boots to fill but we lacked that continuity in the first half and picked it up in the second half."

On the other hand, Orange Emus coach Peter Bromley was impressed with how his team started the match.

"I was pleased with the first half, we spoke about starting well and getting some points early," he said.

"We stuck at it for 40 minutes, the second half was a bit of a dog's breakfast but I'm happy with the first 40 (minutes)."

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It was the perfect start for Emus as Nigel Staniforth slotted a penalty goal to get the visitors on the board early.

Minutes later, the visitors scored their first try of the afternoon as Simon Uphill found himself in space before popping a ball up to Charles Henley who scored out wide, Staniforth added the extras to give Emus an early 10-0 lead.

Dubbo hit back through prop Sam Hunt who scored following a lineout to get the Roos back in the match.

Emus were the next team to score after a shift to their left edge left Charlie Steele-Park in open space, with the winger showing good speed to score out wide.

Off the kick-off, Emus gathered the ball and would score again, this time through Uphill with Staniforth converting another try to move the score to 22-5.

Alex McNiven's first try of the afternoon was a special one, the second-rower beat several Dubbo defenders before going over in the right corner to extend Emus' lead.

Six minutes later, the second-rower had another try after supporting an Angus Roberts-made break with the latter drawing in the fullback before throwing a soft ball to McNiven who strolled over.

The kick was again successful but Emus would score once more before half-time with Sam Greatbach scoring a five-pointer which Staniforth converted to give the visitors a 41-5 lead at half-time.

The hosts fired up at half-time and came out of the sheds firing with Ratu Roko burrowing over out wide before Michell scored a try not long after.

But the Emus managed to hold on in the second half as full-time was blown, giving the hosts the win.

While they may not have gotten the win, Michell was happy to see the debutants hold their own.

"It's good to see them come on and be able to support the team as well," he said.

After the loss, Dubbo will now face a tough fight to stay in the top four after Forbes won their match against Orange City.

The two sides could meet again in a few weeks and Michell is hoping a few troops will return for finals.

"I don't doubt they'll be up there," he said.

"I'm not sure how the finals structure works but hopefully we will be in the mix there.

"It would be nice to see us have a full-strength team and a good bench."

Emus have all but sealed a home semi-final and the third spot after the win, something their coach said was a big talking point prior to the game.

"It was a big win, we spoke about it on the way over," he said.

"We were playing for a home semi-final on Sunday because neither us nor Dubbo could catch the top two.

"So it was a case of let's secure a home semi-final on Sunday, we spoke about getting four points and we got five in the first half."

With the two sides a strong possibility of meeting again in a few weeks, Bromley said it was good to get one over Dubbo.

"It always is, I think both teams from what I heard when got here, they were missing a few players and so were we," he said.

"Semi-finals are always different but at the same time, it's always good to get some confidence up.

"In the first half we played some good football, had good support play and hopefully we can keep that going in the next few weeks."

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