Rhinos do the jersey 'justice' as New Holland Cup clash ends early

Celebrating Indigenous round at Apex Oval, the Rhinos were at their best from the opening whistle against the students who were lacking numbers, forfeiting the second grade New Holland Cup clash earlier on Saturday.

Dominant from start to finish, Rhinos flanker and proud Indigenous man Tyrone Peckham said it was an honour to wear the specially designed jerseys.

"It's pretty good, especially for all of us Indigenous boys," he said.

"It brings out something in us so it was good to get a win on this special round. A big thank you has to go to Mitch (Williams) as well, it wouldn't be possible without him and he put a lot of work into this design.

"I'm glad we were able to do him justice."

A smoking ceremony was held after the two sides entered Apex Oval marking the special occasion and the hosts didn't waste any time.

The Rhinos started the match on a roll with Dale Smith scoring a hat-trick inside the first eight minutes before the home side went on to lead 48-0 at half-time.

Down on troops, CSU showed plenty of fight in the second half but coach Jim Connors said they lacked too many players to compete.

"Full credit has to go to Dubbo, we brought over a very depleted outfit which led to us forfeiting second grade," he said.

"But we can't take anything away from Dubbo, they had a lot of heart on a special day for them and it's important that we were able to share part of it."

While the points were flowing consistently throughout the match, Peckham felt the Rhinos did well not to get too carried away.

"We stayed pretty consistent the whole way through so it was nice that we didn't lose our shape too much," he said.

"Credit to CSU as well, they didn't give up and they had every right to stop pushing. But they kept fighting until the end, they are a strong team and have a lot of potential."

The second half brought more of the same with the Rhinos running six tries before the full time was blown 10 minutes early after a mutual decision from both sides.

As for CSU Bathurst, Connors admitted they are hopeful things will improve later in the season.

"We've got a heap of blokes on placement which has depleted the club a bit and we are struggling with injuries," he said.

"It's made the coach put a jersey on this week which was a bit scary, it's my first game in 10 years."