Many were left shocked after a 44-8 loss from a side which has dominated the competition in 2018.

Coach Billy Hayward said the Lions just weren’t good enough on the day.

Oran Park jumped out to an early 12-0 lead and it was about 15 minutes before the Lions got their hands on the ball.

But when they did, it appeared they were back in contest with Mittagong scoring off its first set.

“They came out with a game plan to blow us out of the park early and they did,” Hayward said.

“Our defence was poor in the early stages and our attitude wasn’t there at the start and we were made to pay for it.”

Following a heated physical exchange between the two forward packs, the Lions had a player sent off just before the break and were down to 12 men for the rest of the match.

“The only times we’ve been beaten this year is when we’ve had 12 men. We came out in the second half and they just started to be more dominant. Mentally our heads started to drop.”

Hayward said it was the first “real beating” the team had had in close to three years.

While it was not the result the Lions were after, Hayward said there still some positive performances from the match.

Sam Ellis backed up from the under-18s, Alex Stone was strong in the middle while Geoff McKeown and Hayden Wallace also put in strong performances.

The Lions now sit second on the ladder behind Picton and will need to defeat Narellan on the road this weekend and have other results go their way to have a chance of claiming the minor premiership. It will be a tough match for Mittagong with the Jets playing to try and secure fifth spot.

“Everything’s on the line for us and every game is going to be critical.”

The Ladies League Tag team also suffered a tough 40-4 loss against Oran Park.

The Lions were down 12-4 early in the second half before Oran Park pulled away and piled on the points.

Mittagong team manager Bill Adrian said up against a good team, their opponent’s skills were on display in the second half.

It was the last home game for the Lions and Adrian said he was pleased with the improvement the side had shown since last year and throughout the season.

They will face Narellan on Saturday.

“We just need to try and hold the ball, that’s what let us down today [Sunday]. When we held the ball we [looked good].”

Despite a slow start, the under-18 Lions fought back against Warragamba to finish with a 24-24 draw, while first grade had the bye.