Dave Silversides’ new-look team ran in nine tries without reply to take its place at the top of the competition ladder despite fierce rival Broulee also recording an emphatic win.

Winger Cory Maddison did most of the damage on the scoreboard with three tries, while veteran forward Andy White was named man of the match after a tireless display.

Boars trainer Matt Ryan said it was a confidence boosting way to kick start the campaign.

“Dave (Silversides) would definitely be quite happy with the start to the season,” he said.

“We had good numbers at Milton, which was great to see, and we’re pretty pleased with the way we started.”

Milton showed some promise in patches but never genuinely threatened to cross the Boars’ line and was largely restricted to long-range chances.

Ryan said the fact that the Bay’s defence stood firm for 80 minutes in wet conditions was perhaps the “biggest positive” to take from the match.

“The fitness levels of both teams were tested on the weekend with the heavy ground and everything, so to keep them to nil was definitely a good thing,” he said.

“The boys really showed enthusiasm to shut down Milton’s good attacking raids.”

Batemans Bay has had to integrate several new faces during the pre-season after some changes were made to last season’s premiership winning side.

And Ryan, who led that successful Boars outfit for the past four seasons, insisted the new players have injected a breath of fresh air into the Bay camp.

“We’ve kept the same team for a few years but these new young guys are gelling in the team now and that’s added some more motivation,” he said.

“They put on some good moves and their enthusiasm was great.”

One of those new faces was young halfback Jimmy Thomas, who took no time settling into first grade senior rugby with a superb display in the centre of the park.

Maddison’s hat-trick caught the eye of spectators but the other six tries were largely shared around and Ryan singled out outside centre Saxton DeTheirry as another standout performer.

Despite the big win, Ryan insisted the Boars weren’t getting ahead of themselves and that they needed to improve on a weekly basis.

“This gives the boys something to build on,” he said.

“There’s always stuff that needs to be worked on. Individually, we’ve got a good team but as the season progresses and the boys gel more, that’s where you’ll see the most improvement.”

The Boars travel to Bombala this weekend in round two action.