The Magpies and Blue Boars both won on the road while the Bulls had a 47-14 home success over Walcha.

Tamworth also registered 40 plus win  and collected their first points for the season with a 49-12 victory over Quirindi down at Quirindi.

Departing second rower Alastair Doyle led the try-scoring effort with three, all three of which he scored in the last 20 minutes.

Breakaway James Bracken also chimed in with a double.

The Blue Boars were even more emphatic thrashing Barraba 63-5 to make it three from three and leapfrog Inverell into second.

They remain just a point off the Bulls, who have claimed maximum points from all three of their games and sit on top.

Saturday was their best showing to date with coach Damien Kelly a lot happier than he was with their first two outings.

“Again we weren’t brilliant,” he said.

“We started a bit loose, probably the first 10-15, but we tightened it up and scored off a couple of driving mauls.”

It is becoming a bit the pattern for them.

“I suppose we do it most weeks. Test the waters and see if we can play a bit of footy,” Kelly said.

If that’s not happening they revert to playing it more through the forwards.

Compared to the first two games Kelly said they stuck to their structure a bit more and played to their patterns.

Their defence was also a lot better, although he wasn’t happy about conceding a couple of tries.

That said the Rams did have them defending a bit more and at one stage had the Bulls on their try line picking and going.

The scoreline probably belied the Rams efforts, Kelly said. They were a better side than the 33 point margin gives them credit for.

He thought Simon Hall, Ben Carrigan and Ciaran O’Gorman were the best of the Bulls.

TABLE: Moree 15, Narrabri 14, Scone 13, Pirates 11, Inverell 11, Gunnedah 6, Tamworth 5, Barraba 2, Walcha 0, Quirindi 0.