Kooringal High's title defence starts off on the right note

A strong second half performance ensured the champions head into the second week of the competition on a winning note.

Luke Lawrence crossed twice as Kooringal High scored a 28-8 win over Mater Dei Catholic College.

Coach Damion Fraser was pleased with how the team kicked off their campaign.

"It was definitely a positive way, especially after the backlash we copped from Mater Dei after winning last year," Fraser said.

"They were calling us false premiers so it was a good way to start this year."

Lawrence crossed early to get Kooringal High on the board only for Angus Purcell to strike back for Mater Dei.

Mitch Carter then extended Kooringal's lead when he scored from close range to hand his side a 12-4 lead at half-time.

Will Hurst cut into the margin when he scored from dummy half early in the second stanza but the errors soon crept up for Mater Dei.

Kooringal took advantage with Riley Norton-Fraser, Joel Tracey and Lawrence all scoring to ensure a solid win heading into their clash with Kildare Catholic College on Monday.

Fraser expects a tougher clash for top spot in Pool A.

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Meanwhile The Riverina Anglican College and Mount Austin High School played out a 28-all draw to see Pool B remain wide open.

After a win to start the competition on Monday, Mt Austin flew out of the gates to lead 18-0 at the drinks breaks.

Tries to Dylan Warner, Jacon Iosefa and Lachlan Walford had Mt Austin well in front before TRAC started to get back into the contest.

Jack Lloyd scored a quickfire double to get his side back into the contest only for Iosefa to hand Mt Austin a 24-12 lead at half-time following a TRAC mistake.

TRAC continued their fight back as tries to Judd McLeod and George Carn put them within two points before they hit the front when Lloyd burst through a gap to complete his hat-trick.

However with five minutes left Clarrie Harris crossed to level things.

While a draw is never an easy result to take, TRAC coach Anthony Heffer was thrilled with his team's resilience.

"They were pretty flat at full-time as a draw is always a bit disappointing but as I pointed out to them at 18-0 we would have been more than happy with a draw at that point," Heffer said.

"I'm really proud of how the guys pulled it together to get themselves back into it.

"We were deep into it in the second half so they learnt a lot about themselves."

The draw sets up an intriguing clash between TRAC and Wagga High School on Monday with the best performed school in Pool B to qualify for the semi-finals.