The first grade side defeated Dubbo Westside 50-28, reserves had a 26-14 win and under 18s smashed the opposition 52-14.

First grade captain/coach Zac Merritt said the triple win sets the club up for a good season.

“I think in previous years we haven’t got off to a good start but this year with all three grades winning the first game, it puts a good vibe back in town - we’ve got that winning mentality back,” he said.

“Fingers crossed it continues.”

Merritt said it was great to get that win under their belt, which means they have started the season off with four points (two for the win and a guaranteed two for this weekend’s bye).

First grade started the game strong with a quick lead of 14-0 but then Westside hit back with a couple of tries and Merritt said throughout the middle of the game the lead yo-yoed between the teams until the last 30 minutes of the game when the Magpies came back strong to bring it home.

“We went unbelievable for the first 30 minutes but after that we had a little lapse and let them back in,” he said.

“At the start of the second half we came out a bit flat but then we really blew them out of the park in the last 30 minutes - we came back real good.”

While happy with the good win, Merritt said the Magpies let Dubbo Westside get in too many points.

“We got a lot of points in but we also let a few too many points in ... 28 is too many,” he said. 

“We want to keep the other sides under 18 points - that’s our goal.”

Merritt said the team’s strength was their vision and their forwards.

“Every time they had numbers short we were really attacking those areas and the forwards really laid the platform,” he said.

Standout players for Merritt were front rower Ben Maguire, halfback Matt Roylance and centre Joel Davie.

Forbes Magpies club president Greg Grogan was thrilled with the day.

“It was a really good day - it was a fantastic crowd and a perfect day for it,” he said. 

“The three-grade win was really good - a perfect start.”