As with the Inverell Hawks, Ashford Roosters drew a side returning to the competition after some time out. Their clash with the Guyra Spuds at the Guyra Sporting Complex on Saturday turned into a rout that saw the Roosters roast the Spuds 108-10.

Roosters’ president Mick Lewis said it was a great start to the season and a big confidence booster for the Ashford team.

“We realise though that Guyra’s just coming back into the competition, and we’ve been through that process in the last couple of years,” Lewis said.

“It’s a hard thing to do to come from nothing straight back into the competition.

“We’re very sympathetic to Guyra’s plight. They’ve some lessons to learn very quickly this year.”

Lewis said Guyra could probably expect some untidy scores later in the year when they played teams like the Inverell Hawks and the Moree Boomerangs.

Ashford will play the Tingha Tigers this week at the Ashford Sportsground, but although Lewis is hoping for a win he was not making any predictions.

“But to start off with a few wins would be a great outcome for Ashford,” he said.

Tingha’s president Ivan Coleman had struggled to put a team on the field to begin with, and his day didn’t improve much when the Tigers drew the Armidale Rams in the first round.

He was definitely reluctant to predict a Tiger resurgence following their 108-10 belting by the Rams at Meade Park on Saturday.

“We got bashed by their big men,” Coleman said.

“Those big Fijian forwards ran all over the top of us, and our players are not that big. 

“I don’t know whether we’ve got a side to play Ashford yet. We had two bad injuries and ended up with only one on the bench.”