It wasn't to be, with Narrabri pulling away in the last 15 minutes to secure the points.

But for new Lions coach Tom Koerstz it was an encouraging start.

"There were so many positives to take out of the performance," he said.

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"There's some small things we need to work on, but the good thing is all the things we need to work on are in our control."

On Saturday they will be out to build on that promising start when they host Moree.

It won't be an easy assignment with the Bulls thrashing Barraba by 61 points, but the Lions are looking forward to it.

"Everyone's massively excited by another big challenge," Koerstz said.

"They're (Bulls) similar to Narrabri; you look across the side and there's a lot of talent."

"For us it's important we start well and get in the fight and be happy to head to the grindstone for 80 minutes."

They also have to show the same defensive fortitude they did against the Blue Boars.

"We had a very good defensive focus," he said.

"We knew we'd have to dig deep and be prepared to wear a few on Saturday. The way the boys continually turned up was really good."

The way the pack stood up against the Blue Boars' was also "really promising".

But doing it one week is one thing. The test for the Lions is finding that consistency.

"It's all well and good to start the season well, turn up in Round 1. Everyone's excited for Round 1; it's whether you can do it back-to-back," Koerstz said.

"It's something we've been a bit guilty of in the past, our performances have ebbed and flowed."

He said there is a real buzz around Quirindi at the moment, and the players are "really excited" to get out there in front of what is shaping up as a really good crowd.

Unfortunately they will be missing one of the stars of the Blue Boars game with new recruit Daniel Calavassy unavailable.

Jake Murray will slot into five-eighth in his absence. He missed the Blue Boars game after welcoming his second child on the Friday.

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