The Raiders enjoyed a bye in round one and went north-west to face a Roosters outfit that had been humbled 76-16 by Parkes the previous week.

But they faced a side that showed significant resolve, which earned the praise of Macquarie coach Guy Meredith.

"It's nice to get that trip out of the way and come away from it with a win," Meredith said.

"Cobar are a vastly different side at home compared to when they travel and they really put it to us. I think anyone going out there this year is going to have to be on their game."

With rain turning the game into a forward-dominated contest, Macquarie took an 8-6 lead into half-time, and while they didn't run away with the match in the second half, they did enough to get two points in the bank.

Meredith was full of praise for his side, in particular young halfback Jack Kelly, who made his top grade debut.

"We're still working on a few things with the squad, a few positional things, but I was happy with what I saw on Saturday," Meredith said.

"Jack played his first game of first grade and was mistake-free, and having guys like Jeremy Smith, Claude Gordon jnr and Mason Williams around him was good.

"Jeremy doesn't know how to play a bad game, and Mason scored two tries from fullback which was a good reward because he was very good.

"Cobar had a big forward pack but our boys went with them. Like I said it's a good trip to have out of the way and it's a good win to get, and we won all three grades so that shows we have some good depth in the club this year."

Meredith's men now have to turn their attention to a trip to Kennard Park this weekend, where they will face Wellington.