The Batemans Bay Tigers, Bega Roosters, and Tathra Sea Eagles got their seasons off to the perfect start in Round 1 of the 2022 Group 16 competition.
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Eden and Tathra were first cab off the rank at the Tathra Beach Country Club on Saturday afternoon. The Sea Eagles are still technically the defending champs after both the 2020 and 2021 seasons went without a premier.
The home side got off to the perfect start in their premiership defence with a 24-10 win over the Tigers, who are led by former NRL player Adrian Purtell in 2022.
Reserve grade was a tight 30-22 win to the Eden Tigers, and Eden also won the League Tag match by a score of 18-16.
The Batemans Bay Tigers hosted the Moruya Sharks in first grade on Saturday evening at Mackay Park and came away with a 28-4 win.
That game was preceded by the inaugural game for the South Coast Marlins, Group 16's women's tackle side playing in the Katrina Fanning Shield.
The Marlins won the game 8-0 against the UC Stars, however the second half wasn't able to be played due to a potential neck injury suffered by one of the Stars' players.
First-grade saw a tough encounter in the first half as Batemans Bay only led 8-4 against a Moruya side who had struggled for numbers during the preseason.
However, the Tigers kicked away in the second half for a comfortable win.
The Narooma Devils travelled down to Bega on Saturday afternoon to take on the Roosters in both League Tag and first grade.
Lilly-Rose Bennett played in her first game since a horrific broken leg in 2019, and scored both the She-Devils tries in a 10-4 win over the Bega Chicks.
In first-grade, Bega was comfortable from start to finish, building a 34-0 lead in what was eventually a 34-6 win.
It was the first hit-out for a new-look Devils side who have lost nine players from the squad who qualified for a preliminary final before the 2021 season was canned early.
The round wrapped up on Sunday with a full four-grade program in Jindabyne between the Snowy River Bears and the Merimbula-Pambula Bulldogs.
The Cooma Stallions romped home to a 36-4 win in the under 18s before a tight 20-14 win by the Bears over the Bulldogs in League Tag. Snowy River also recorded a dominant 38-0 win in Reserve Grade.
The First-grade match-up was the tightest of the day, and the two sides couldn't be split in a 22-all draw.
Bombala will open its season next weekend after they had the bye in Round 1.