Kavanagh leads from the front but Raiders far from perfect in big win over young Wolves

The Raiders defeated Lithgow 46-10 in their Peter McDonald Premiership clash at Apex Oval, with front-rower Jack Kavanagh barging over for a double.

While not pleased with the side's overall performance, the captain-coach was proud to set the standard with his hard-running performance.

"This year, I've tried to get away from the ball playing a bit and sort of lay the platform more," he said.

"I really emphasise on trying to go forward and getting the boys to come off the back of me.

"I try to be a real leader."

While the Raiders cruised for much of the contest, there were times when they found themselves on the back foot after conceding a penalty or after making an error due to straying from the game plan.

Almost every time, Kavanagh was the one to tuck the ball under the arm and carry defenders with him to regain momentum.

Kavanagh crashed over from close range once as the Raiders built a 22-10 half-time lead and he scored again late on in a second half which failed to hit any great heights.

"It was a very scrappy game," Kavanagh said.

"We definitely weren't at our best today and we bombed a lot of opportunities.

"We were a bit ordinary in the penalty count again and got a bit ill-disciplined so we've got plenty to work on this week coming into Parkes."

Winger Charlie Kempston also finished with a double after scoring twice inside the opening 10 minutes to send the Raiders on their way, while Josateki Masibalavu, EJ Fernando, Billy Gilbert and Johnny Mafiti also crossed in Macquarie's second win from the opening three rounds.

For Lithgow, it was a sobering result after a morale-boosting win over Nyngan a week prior.

For much of the second half the Wolves were hanging in with the Raiders, with teenage halfback Eli Morris again catching the eye.

Morris sent Kye Cameron over for Lithgow's first try with a brilliant flick pass while he never threw the towel in and was still probing and attacking when the result had long been decided.

"We're still at quite a young side," coach Pete Morris said.

"I think there's six or seven guys out of the (under) 18s from last year among them and Macquarie is a good side.

"Midway through the first half, we certainly were pushing them but we just couldn't get those two or three sets on them and that was a shame because when we did complete a couple of sets were scored a couple of tries.

"It's obviously a little bit disappointing the way we taped off at the end, but the boys never gave up, which is good."

Back-rowers Jack Kempston and Billy Gilbert were among Macquarie's best outside of Kavanagh but a wrist injury to Jordan Reynolds was a worry for the hosts.

That blow comes after regular halfback Jordan Boney missed Sunday's win due to a shoulder complaint while Alex Ronayne and Filisione Pauta were unavailable due to suspension.

Randel Dowling and Kyjuan Crawford formed a new halves partnership for the Raiders and Kavanagh said the pair and others forced to change position "all stood up".

Macquarie travels to Parkes next weekend while Lithgow returns home to take on Mudgee.