Sunshine and cloud cover battled for supremacy at Rugby Park, as Tamworth and Armidale did the same.
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An excellent crowd was on hand for the season openers, with Armidale's red-hot start in first grade parlayed into a 34-12 win.
Tamworth secretary Geoff Ellerton said it was "a great day".
"Everything's organised," he said. "We've had our membership cards out - people have been picking those up.
"We've got a new canteen operator, and we have steak and sausage sandwiches for the first time in four years."
In the main game, the Blues jumped to an early 15-0 lead and were never headed, although Tamworth played 30 minutes of the second half down a man after No. 7 Finlay Lambeth was sent off for a lifting tackle.
The home side reduced the margin to 15-5 at half-time after No. 4 Norman Turner crashed over, then drew even closer when No. 15 Mitch Bowen scooped up a lose ball and raced away to score.
Liam Allan converted from touch and it was a 15-12 ball game.
But that was the closest Tamworth got to last year's beaten grand finalists, with No. 10 Fraser Thomas slicing through the Magpies' defence in the 67th minutes to reassert Armidale's authority.
"It was a little bit scrappy in areas," Magpies debutant and No. 6 Walker Harrison said, adding: "We were defending for probably 70 per cent of the game.
"I can't commend the defence enough. We've just gotta play smarter."
Mark Bode
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
I’m passionate about writing stories that resonate with people. And I’m genuinely interested in the people I interview; I want to know about them and present their stories in a meaningful way.
