That was the blunt message delivered by coach Doug Sandry after his side went down to the Mudgee Wombats 39-19 in their first match of the New Holland Agriculture Cup season on Saturday.

In a scrappy match at Apex Oval that featured little free-flowing rugby, a slow start from the Rhinos and the sending off of No. 8 Tyrone Fleming for a dangerous tackle inside the first 10 minutes proved decisive.

Mudgee was the superior side, again proving dominant in the scrum and at the breakdown, and while the Rhinos never threw in the towel and scored the final two tries of the match it was nowhere near enough to score a first win, outside a forfeit, since May of 2018.

"There's good signs. Last year we lost by a hell of a lot than 20 in our first game of the year so to go down by 20 against a pretty good team like Mudgee, I'll take it on board but we won't be happy with it," Sandry said.

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While Sandry spoke at length with the officials following the match after his side conceded a plethora of penalties the Rhinos players spoke frankly with each about the frustrating performance, with captain Matt Graham demanding more from his teammates.

"I've put a lot of onus on our leadership group this year and they need to take control," Sandry said.

"I'm the coach but they're the ones on the field running the show and I'm happy for them to do that because it isn't good enough.

"We can't accept good losses anymore. That's not what we're about. We don't want losses, we want victories."

Mudgee controlled the match from almost the outset, scoring with virtually their first touch of the ball inside two minutes when a shift to the left resulted in the first of three tries on the day for flying fullback Tom Dudek.

Things went from bad to worse for the Rhinos when referee Brandon Kreymborg showed Fleming a straight red on nine minutes and a string of penalties from the hosts followed.

Despite having Lochie Brown sent to the bin for another dangerous tackle, Mudgee extended their lead through a second for Dudek on 20 minutes.

While a tenacious effort from Rhinos fullback Dale Smith, who carried a Wombats player across the line to score, resulted in the margin being cut back to seven, quick tries either side of half-time put the visitors firmly in control.

The Rhinos worked their back as time went on but to rub salt in the wound they lost the ball while within striking distance of the tryline and could only watch as Jack Brown raced 95m untouched to help extend the Mudgee lead to 31-7.

Hunter Olsson got another for Mudgee soon after but momentum swung in the final stages and Brett Austin and Rhinos standout and powerhouse ball-runner Kelevi Ralulu both crossed while two Wombats were sent to the sin-bin.

"Unfortunately we turned off a little bit at the end but it's always hard when the score goes out a bit and it's a bit scrappy," Mudgee captain Tom Dunstan said.

"For most of the game it was positive though. You never complain about getting a win, even in a scrappy game."

The performance was a pleasing one for the Wombats given they suffered a three-point loss to Parkes in round one while the Rhinos came into Saturday's match having had the bye first-up.

"They scored three or four long-distance tries out wide and we didn't have the numbers to cover the 14 on 15," Sandry added.

"They (Mudgee) played really well ... but there's some encouraging signs. We finished strong and we've got a long way to go and some players to come back but I was expecting us to really perform well today."

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