“We had a few out right through the club, so it was going to be a real big test right through the club,” Stevens said.

“They led us 12-0 after 15 minutes. The plan we went in with we sort of got away from, but after we got back into the grind and started kicking corners, we rolled through them pretty easy. I think we led 28-18 at half-time.”

Stevens said the Hawks played some of their best football after half-time.

“Once again, we were very good defensively. They had a bit of luck, we just didn’t kick very well in the early stages of the game,” Stevens said.

“We were pretty happy. It tested the club’s depth and we stood up, so it was real good.”

Stevens said even though the team was training well and fit, it was also carrying a few injuries.

“We’ve got a few niggling injuries, so we’re treading on eggshells at the moment. It’s just every week at a time,” Stevens said.

He said the training ethic within the club was excellent.

The Hawks play Ashford on the weekend and the following week they will play the Boomerangs in Moree, but Stevens said he was not looking ahead as far as the Moree game yet.

“One thing we’ve been really good at is only taking a day at a time and getting our own backyard right,” Stevens said.

“We’re definitely going to be down on troops this week. Our representative players will be away. 

“If we’re ever going to be vulnerable against Ashford it will probably be this week.”

Stevens predicted the Hawks will be in a prominent position at the ‘pointy end’ of the season.

“We’re nowhere where we want to be but every week there’s improvement,” Stevens said.