THE Moss Vale Dragons first grade side managed to shake a monkey off its back on Saturday night.

The Dragons recorded a 28-22 win in the local derby against Mittagong Lions at Community Oval.

It was the team’s first win in the Group 6 competition in three years.

Club president Michael Sutton said the Dragons performed well in front of a large crowd.

“We managed to get the monkey off our back,” he said.

“There was a good atmosphere and it shows the new culture that we have created.

“A lot of people were behind us on Saturday night.”

Sutton said Moss Vale had several standouts, led by captain Ryan Cullen, Jesse Dee, Chris McBride, Paul Briggs, Luke Roberts and Oliver Saintignan.

“We had no reserves on the bench in the end, so everyone dug really deep,” he said.

Mittagong president Dave Elliott said it was a disappointing performance overall, but Regan Economos was a standout for the Lions.

“It was disappointing that some of the boys seemed to be overawed by it all,” he said.

“We were out enthused and Moss Vale deserved the win.”

Mittagong enjoyed a perfect start to its 2015 Group 6 reserve grade campaign.

The Lions recorded a 48-0 victory over the Dragons.

Jesse Elliott and Bo Lander led the way for Mittagong as the side secured a thumping win.

Dave Elliott said it was an impressive win.

“The reserves played really well, especially after they hadn’t played many pre-season trials,” he said.

“Moss Vale struggled for numbers, but still sent out a team on Saturday night.”

Earlier in the day, Moss Vale’s under-18s team lost 28-12 to the Warragamba Wombats.