Taking on Orange City at Pride Park, it was the visitors who came out firing early on in their Blowes Clothing Cup first grade match.

Coming off a hat-trick in a win over the Dubbo Roos a week prior, Dan Jackson opened the scoring for a side still battling to find their best form.

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The Lions were determined open their own account as well. Three penalties in the opposition half within five minutes led three penalty goal attempts for Mark Burton. He had no luck on the first two, but managed to slot home the third and but the deficit to just two.

It was one-way traffic the rest of the first half though, with tries to Roberts and Louis Monro-Carr helping Emus to a 22-6 lead come half-time.

"I think the first half was pretty crap," City skipper Kieran Bonin said after the game.

"Those (Emus) tries in the first half were so soft. It's about making sure we have two good halves. I'm not sure how we do it, but we're getting there and doing the right things."

Emus' Tom Dewhurst put in a good performance in the forward pack and preached the importance of a quality start.

"It doesn't matter what team you're playing or what team you play for, it's a lot easier to play from the front," he said.

"There was a lot of focus on trying to get out at the start of the game and set the platform early."

Although City were outscored 14-5 in the second half - culminating in a 36-11 defeat - the final 20 minutes belonged to the home side and they were rewarded with a try late in the game.

Emus captain Nigel Staniforth was pleased with his side's performance which came in a game where several players from both sides were forced off with injury.

"Unfortunately in the second half, we started well but we had a few guys carrying injuries and it started compounding and we were on the back foot," he said.

"City also raised a bit and they got a bit stronger and started playing a bit more football.

"We're starting to play smarter footy, but the biggest thing for us is keeping everyone healthy and fresh."

The loss keeps City without a victory this season, something Bonin is keen to change.

"I feel like we haven't felt much passion all season and that last 20 it showed there was definitely something there. If we just put a bit of structure to it I think we can beat a lot of teams," he said.

"Next year is our 50th year and we keep on saying it's a marathon, not a sprint. We're slowly getting there and the score-lines are slowly getting a lot closer."