The Lions ran away with the game late to claim a 11.14 (80) to 6.9 (45) victory, however they had quite a fight on their hands throughout the majority of the first half.

Lions coach Sam Martyn was happy to come away with the four points and agreed it far from an easy victory for his side.

"It was a really tough game," Martyn said.

"The way they structure up behind the footy and especially in the first quarter their pressure was just better than ours.

"You could see they were a very determined side and they wanted to prove a point, all credit to them they really brought the heat.

"They made us adapt and get better because we weren't probably playing the way we wanted to, that's because of what they were doing structurally.

"Once we adapted we looked like the side we want to play as and what we believe we can be, but we probably looked like a team that had played one trial game.

"Just a few new faces coming into the side and us learning how to play with them, just in terms of our forward structure as we had players folding in on each other.

"Once we understood how we wanted to structure up and gain separation we saw a better Ganmain team going forward."

Two goals to one in an entertaining opening quarter saw the Hoppers take an eight-point lead into the first break.

A goal to Campbell Mattingly early in the second saw the Hoppers jump out to a 13-point lead before the Lions worked themselves back into the game.

Four unanswered goals in the space of 10 minutes leading into halftime resulted in the Lions taking a 14-point lead into the sheds.

Mattingly had his second within the first minute of the second half, however back-to-back goals from Dan Foley saw the Lions ahead by 20 points at the last change.

Four goals to two in the last term saw the Lions eventually run out comfortable winners, however the Hoppers kept competing right until the final siren.

Jack Powell was brilliant in his first game in Ganmain colours, kicking four goals in what was a very impressive club debut.

Martyn was very impressed with his performance and believed his showing warranted why they chased his signature so hard over the off-season.

"I don't think you could ask for a better debut," he said.

"He was outstanding and there's a reason why we went so hard for him once we knew he was on the market.

"I've played a lot of footy with him in Canberra and I know how talented he is, he proved why he's going to be a really dominant player in this competition.

"Then you look at Tommy B (Banuelos) as well, he was sensational and we probably needed him at times through that ruck just to give us first use.

"His ability to be a 200cm midfielder just gave us a lot of drive, but when he goes forward to play on a calibre of player as (Tim) Coenen and take the grabs he did and set our play up was phenomenal.

"Again there's a reason why we went so hard after those two players."

Banuelos also managed to kick a couple of goals in between his stints in the ruck while Foley also enjoyed a strong day out kicking three majors.

Martyn said it was good to see the ruckman hit the scoreboard and he believed it was definitely a day suited to their taller targets inside forward 50.

"I think it was a day for our tall's," he said.

"Dan was exceptional too and I think a lot of the time Dan's work goes under the radar, internally he's so valued but externally we probably don't see everything he does.

"He's a player that gets around 20 touches a game, he tackles hard, 10 marks a game, hits the scoreboard and gives you first use in the ruck.

"He's so multi-dimensional and externally he probably doesn't get the rewards, but internally we love playing with him."

The Lions donned their Grong Grong-Matong Magpies kit in the clash against the Hoppers in a tribute to club legend Laurie Quinn who passed away over the off-season.

James Lawton didn't feature for the Lions in reserve grade like initially anticipated, however they still ran out very comfortable 50-point winners over the Hoppers.

Full Time

GGGM 1.3 5.8 7.10 11.14 (80)

Coolamon 2.5 3.6 4.8 6.9 (45)

GOALS: GGGM: J Powell 4, D Foley 3, T Banuelos 2, S Butterfield 2; Coolamon: C Mattingly 2, A Macauley, B Hodgson, C McKelvie, A Clarke

BEST: GGGM: T Banuelos, D Foley, J Powell, B Walsh, A Proctor, N Hamblin; Coolamon: A Clarke, B Glyde, B Hodgson, A Macauley, M King, T Coenen

Coolamon coach Gavin McMahon couldn't be prouder of his side after they put the fight right up to Ganmain-Grong Grong-Matong in their round one local derby clash.

The Hoppers had control of the contest for the first quarter and a half before the Lions eventually kicked away after halftime to run out 11.14 (80) to 6.9 (45) winners.

It was a strong showing from a new-look side and McMahon said he was proud of how they performed against a quality opposition.

"Absolutely, we learnt so much about ourselves today," McMahon said.

"We learnt we've got a lot of emerging talent that's right at the beginning of their footy journey.

"We've got some really good senior fellas that have come in to help nurture that with the Sydney boys and we've got a game style that will stack up when we can actually play it properly.

"You're never happy after a loss but I couldn't be more proud of the group to be honest, they are going alright."

The Hoppers were impressive from the first bounce and executed their new game plan to perfection in the opening term which forced the Lions to make some major changes at the first break.

McMahon said he wasn't surprised to see his side start so well, but noted that they fell away when fatigue kicked in during the third and fourth quarters.

"I never doubted that," he said.

"I always knew we'd get a team that'd play team-first footy from first whistle to last whistle, that was never a worry.

"It was just a matter of how well we could execute and how we executed under fatigue, I thought when we were fresh enough we executed quite well.

"But once we got fatigued that was where our work went out and I think that's where our work needs to go now I think."

Off-season recruit Ben Hodgson had a terrific first game for the Hoppers as he provided plenty of drive through the midfield.

McMahon agreed Hodgson had a solid first outing for the Hoppers and noted that fellow recruit Tim Coenen was also impressive.

"Absolutely, but we knew that though," he said.

"We knew with Timmy Coenen down back as well and Ben that they are elite footballers, we are really quite blessed to have them part of our team."

The Hoppers had a lot of new faces in their side today and McMahon was pleased with how each one of them had their little moment to shine.

"We had 10 first-gamers who all contributed at different times and I was bloody chuffed with all of them," he said.

"Would all of us like a couple of plays back each that they had, of course.

"But they are first-gamers and you only look at the positives for a first-gamer and we had a plethora of them.

"I'm chuffed, really pumped for our boys."

Campbell Mattingly played well up forward for the Hoppers and finished with two goals while Allister Clarke and Braeden Glyde were both impressive as well against the Lions.

The Hoppers host Turvey Park next weekend at Kindra Park and McMahon admitted there's a few things they need to work on ahead of facing the Bulldogs.

"It was pretty obvious there once we stopped thinking a bit today we started to bomb it long," he said.

"That's not our game style and that plays into the oppositions hands, especially Ganmain's.

"We've just got to tidy up our ball movement a little bit forward of centre and if we do that we're going to get better scoring opportunities.

"If we do that, we'll be in the game."