It was a tough affair for the Roos outfit for their first game of the regular season with play going from one end of the field to the other in the early stages.

But the patience of the Roos side paid off with a slick Will Parnaby crossing the white line and running around closer to the post to score, but with a howler of a wind it made kicking difficult under the conditions, leaving the Roos with a 5-0 lead.

The coaching staff then made a couple of interchanges which paid dividends straight away as they crossed to take the lead out to 10-0.

City kept making inroads but weren't able to finish as the Roos' goal-line defence was outstanding.

Orange City, with the big playing roster, made their maximum 12 interchanges at half-time and it showed within the dynamics of their play which obviously the coach will work with over the coming months.

Roos stayed with their game plan to keep it tight and Harry O'Leary was outstanding in his first game back after being injured on the New Zealand tour last year.

He stepped straight back in to form, making decisive runs into the City's half and spinning the ball wide found Euan Truscott in the clear and he crossed for another Roos try out wide.

Again the conversion was unsuccessful .

Orange City hit back with two tries to their fullback Jeremiah Ovenden and their breakaway Nick Walds, and with Walds converting his own try the gap closed to 15-12.

But the Roos weren't finished yet, with some outstanding work from Matt Dodd and James Murphy paving the way for James Bourchier to kick the ball through, regather and race away to score one of the best tries of the day.

With the full-time whistle being blown the Roos had come away with a 20-12 win and picked up the four-try bonus point as well.

The coaching staff praised all the players on their efforts.