Last year it was Moree. This time Walcha; the Lions withstanding a late 'ram raid' to hold on for what skipper Tom Grant labelled a "pretty gutsy" win.

The Rams had the momentum and the territory in the closing stages but the Lions defence was unyielding - even down to 13 after Sam Avard and Ed Nankivell were yellow-carded within about a minute of each other - as they claimed a 30-20 victory.

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"At that time of the game in any game it just comes down to guts and determination so the last 10 regardless of how many on the field you've just got to put everything into it," Grant said.

"We were pretty confident by that stage that if we kept doing what we were doing we were going to be okay."

It was a real arm wrestle with both sides enjoying patches of dominance but never really able to kick away.

As they did against Pirates in the opening round, the Lions came out firing kicking an early penalty.

The Rams were quick to reply, winger Sam Lomax crossing in the corner after a switch of play exposed the Lions' defence outwide.

The home side hit back through five-eighth Charlie Gulliver after Brodie Nankivell split the Rams open. Trading tries, Rams skipper Ed Churchill burrowed over to put them back in front a few minutes later.

Toby Maxwell then extended their lead to 15-8 midway through the half. But a barnstorming run from centre Will Saunders in the shades of half-time got the Lions hot on attack and half-back Daniel Calavassy found some space off the ruck to cut the Rams lead back to 15-13 at the break.

It was good reward for their defensive resilience with the Rams enjoying some sustained possession in their 22.

The Lions then scored early in the second half to hit the front again.

From there they were never headed, but never comfortable either.

The defence was for Grant one of the most pleasing aspects of the performance.

There were a couple of standout moments. In the first half Nankivell, coming across in cover, managed to flick the ball out of Lomax's hands in the action of putting it down and saved a certain try. Then in the second half, and down to 13, they held the Rams up over the line.

Grant also noted how they were able to early make some adjustments "on the fly" to plug a few gaps.

While delighted with the result, he said they can't afford to get too carried away with themselves.

"Our job now is to make sure that we can put back-to-back wins together and keep building into the season," he said.

They made that mistake last year, following up the Bulls win with a poor performance.

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