It was a tough trip to Geurie last Saturday, with Canowindra going down to the Goats 49-8, but Middleton says the scoreline didn't truly reflect his squad's efforts.

"We started really well, we had a lot of the attacking raids on our line but we couldn't quite bust through," he said.

"Then the game sort of settled down... that's when we fell away a little bit. Then the gates opened a little bit, we let a few tries in.

"Halftime came and the boys were still upbeat, I was really happy with the way they started the second half.

"The same thing as the first half, almost a carbon copy, we had a few attacking raids and we managed to get a try in the first 10 minutes of the second half.

"They started coming over the top of us and they finished with a few tries at the end there."

Middleton said match fitness and defence would be the focus of training.

"The boys had a real go and they just had little parts where they went to sleep a little bit, they just need a little bit more," he said.

"We were giving away silly penalties... guys were hanging onto the ball a bit long.

"We just have to work on our tackles and our commitment to the 80 minutes... But we'll work on it, we've got a young side and they had a lot of older, stronger guys."

While he highlighted the efforts of James Wolters and Lachlan Sharp, Middleton said recruits Angus Fisher and Ashley Frost have shown promise despite being new to the sport.

"We've got probably five guys there that haven't played rugby before and they are learning," Middleton said.

"James Wolters, he was captain this week and he had his best game.

"[Angus Fisher and Ashley Frost] they had their best game so far."

The side will face the Wellington Redbacks at home this Saturday.