John Fitzgerald, Tallon Smith
The Lithgow Workies Wolves have opened their season with a 26-10 loss at home to Orange Hawks in round 1 of the Peter McDonald Premiership.
The Hawks led 22-0 at halftime and looked like they would add a lot more numbers in the second half after scoring soon after the resumption for a 26-0 scoreline.
Following this early unconverted try Workies tightened their defence to keep the Orange attack at bay while scoring two unanswered tries which, with their much stronger tackling, made the scoreboard much less maligned with a final 26-10 score.
Meanwhile, Bathurst St Pats took home the chocolates in the Bathurst Derby with a 30-10 win over the Panthers at Jack Arrow Oval.
Matthew Beattie scored a double as Pats ran in six tries to two in a dominant display over their cross-town rivals.
Dubbo CYMS also secured a narrow win over their cross-town rivals, defeating Dubbo Macquarie 20-18 at Apex Oval.
A late flurry of tries to Ben Marlin, Jack Allen and Jyie Chapman saw the Fishies overcome an 18-4 Raiders lead to steal a memorable victory.
In other results, Wellington shut out Nyngan 20-0, Forbes won their grudge match with Parkes 46-16, and Orange CYMS 20 defeated Mudgee 18.
Battlers For Bush Footy 