Going toe-to-toe with Macquarie at Dubbo, the Magpies faltered in the second half before a final rally fell short in a 28-24 loss to the Raiders in round two of the 2018 Group 11 season.

The Magpies’ final play broke down, gifting Macquarie a first win of the season and removing the weight from coach Dylan Hill’s young shoulders almost immediately when the full-time siren sounded.

“It’s definitely pleasing getting the first win, we were probably the more dominant team on the day,” Hill said.

“We got away with the win but there was a fair few missed opportunities.”

The game ebbed and flowed to start with before the hosts hit top gear in the second stanza, Jade Hooper and young half Jai Merritt, in his first game of 2018, enjoying strong outings for the victors.

The latter kicked a couple of key 40-20s for the Raiders.

“Overall it was a great team performance,” the young coach added. “Jade’s impact was great, he was a real big difference for us off the bench. He probably lifted the momentum for us.”

Hill believes the win can kick-start his side’s campaign, one which got off to a rocky start with a 16-point loss to the Spacemen in Parkes in round one.

“It’s something we needed, that win,” he added.

“We didn’t want to be 0-2, so to jag a win against probably two of the top teams in Parkes and Forbes, it’s a good result. Something we can build on. We show a lot of promise and ability.”

In the weekend’s other Group 11 games:

First grade

Narromine 24 Nyngan 42

Wellington 54 Westside 20

Parkes 18 Dubbo CYMS 44

Reserve grade

Nattomine 32 Nyngan 34

Dubbo Macquarie 32 Forbes Magpies 12

Wellington 30 Westside 10

Parkes 22 Dubbo CYMS 8

Under 18s

Narromine 16 Nyngan 26

Dubbo Macquarie 12 Forbes Magpies 50

Wellington 46 Westside 8

Parkes 17 Dubbo CYMS 16

League tag

Narromine 34 Nyngan 14

Dubbo Macquarie 12 Forbes Magpies 14

Wellington 10 Westside 22

Parkes 20 Dubbo CYMS 6