Lions find a way to get past the Collegians in hard fought contest

Racing to a 22-0 lead after 23 minutes, the home side looked in control, but the Collegians fought back to cut the margin to just 10 points at half time.

A four try to three second half was enough to see the Lions get the job done 48-30, but player coach Keiran Rankmore wasn't fully impressed.

"We put in a really good performance in the first half and that was exactly how we wanted to start, but we fell into bad habits every time we got out to a big lead," Rankmore said.

"We came out in the second half with the mentality that it was 0-0 and tried to put them to bed early, but a bit of laziness led to us conceding tries."

"We're going to work on our defence and cutting out the bad habits in training, but at the end of the day, we're finding a way to win.

"If we can put 80 minute performances together, I think we can beat anyone on our day."

As the Macarthur First Grade Premiership season reaches the halfway mark, the Lions find themselves fifth on the ladder, meaning their latest victory was an important one.

"At this stage of the year, every game's crucial," Rankmore said.

"We needed two points today, but it was also great to bounce back from our loss to Camden last round."

This is Rankmore's first season in charge after taking over the retired James Grehan in preseason, but he said the former forward was never far away.

"James is running the water for us these days," Rankmore said.

"He and I go way back and we contact each other twice a week and talk footy."

The Lions next travel to Onslow Oval in Camden on Sunday, May 26 to face the South West Goannas from 3pm.