Kyle Smith and Kyle Eather both bagged doubles in the opening fixture, with a single for each coming in the first half.

It was Matt Simon that opened the scoring for the Scorpions however, crossing just after the ten minute mark to put the home side ahead.

Scott Briggs, who eventually kicked four of the five goals in the match, converted Simon’s effort and got the team onto an 18-point run.

A late reply from Nicholas Glohe and a kick from Curtis Naughton put the score at 18-6 going into the sheds at half time, but Eather and Smith both had another in them for the second half.

Kyle Kennedy’s try was the first of the second period, but Macquarie’s two tries in reply secured the points and put the champions in second place after the first round.

Earlier, Paul Carter’s return to rugby league was a rocky one, made even worse by Cessnock’s 36-0 loss to Coalfields rivals the Pickers at Maitland Sportsground, and the NRL bad boy now faces a few weeks on the sideline with suspension.

NSW Rugby League officials will meet and review the incident from the Newcastle RL first-round encounter and decide whether or not to charge Carter.

The five-eighth makes a tackle in the 46th minute. He is the sole defender about 20 metres out from the opposition tryline and his arm makes contact high on Maitland’s Jarrod Smith. Referee John Taylor opts to put Carter on report rather than send him off. The Pickers were leading 30-0.

Less than 60 seconds later in the game, during the ensuing set of six, Carter and rival half Ryan Walsh throw punches at one another following a tackle.  

Both were given 10 minutes in the sin-bin.

It was less than the ideal comeback for Carter, who was chasing redemption and a fresh start but instead found more trouble.     

Elsewhere on Saturday South Newcastle were beaten 26-10 by Kurri Kurri.

Sunday’s sole fixture saw Western Suburbs silence a few critics and Central Newcastle leave Harker Oval with more questions than they answered.

The Rosellas accounted for the Butcher Boys 20-6.

“It’s nice to get the monkey off the back a bit because a number of people, both internally and externally, questioned the pathway that we’ve taken in relation to who we let go and who we recruited,” Wests coach Matt Lantry said.

ROUND 2 FIXTURES: Cessnock v Kurri; Central v Macquarie; Lakes v Wests; Souths v Maitland.