Canowindra's Pythons made the trip to Guerie, their 14 members facing off against a side of 26.
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With both sides facing 30 degree heat, the lack of substitutes cost the Pythons dearly with the side falling prey to the Goats 31-19.
Coach Tom Roth said that the Goats were "always pretty tough out there" but the overwhelming factor was the lack of manpower on the field.
"We only had 14 people on the weekend," he said.
When asked about performance issues, Roth said the team had performed well, but needed manning of the side to improve.
"Not really performance, but we had a few discipline and what I'd just call silly stuff that cost us games earlier in the year that we needed to win," he said.
"We've not been doing ourselves any favours, but the last couple of weeks we've gotten a lot better with our discipline."
Roth said the team is improving, focussing on discipline and support play.
"We get amongst each other, even if we're losing - we'll stick by each other."
Roth added morale was on the upswing, and the Pythons were looking for momentum as the team finds its feet for the year.
"Once we win, we'll keep winning. I think maybe we've forgotten how to win to be honest. But once it's there, we'll keep going."
In spite of challenges, Roth believes the team is in a position to build.
"The club itself is at a very good place, everyone's together; we've just got to get our footy right and we'll be good."
Roth said the next round against the Eagles will be more evenly matched, with both clubs at similar stages of building up their teams.
"Yeoval are similar to us, they're building their team as well. It'll be a bloody good game to watch," he said.
"The important thing is getting people back to the club, people play because they want to."
Points for the Pythons came from tries to Whiteman, Slattery and McHenry with Fisher and McHenry converting two of the five pointers.
In other games last weekend:
Coolah Kangaroos 22 defeated Wellington Redbacks 17.
Yeoval Eagles 31 defeated Trangie Tigers 3.
Coonabarabran Kookaburras 29 drew with Molong Magpies 29.
The Pythons have their next game against Yeoval next weekend in Canowindra on Saturday 2pm.
The other games see Trangie up against Coolah, Coonabarabran at home to Wellington and Molong hosting the Geurie Goats.
