Confusion surrounded rule interpretations as opposing coaches had differing beliefs when it came to substitutes, with Cairns rotating their stars on and off without exceeding the maximum of eight changes.

Mount Isa however, were under the impression once a player came from the field they could not return, only finding out otherwise with just 10 minutes remaining.

Even the Brisbane-based referee thought that when a player left the field, that was the end of their night.

Despite the confusion, Cairns easily accounted for Mount Isa 36-5 on the back of a dominant first half, which netted them a 24-0 head start at Mount Isa's Rugby Park.

The Thunder crossed after just seven minutes to gain the early ascendancy, as the best players from Mount Isa sides Euros, Keas and Warrigals found themselves planted inside their own half for the majority.

When they did have possession, Mount Isa's handling was sloppy, with numerous errors costing them any chance of developing momentum and continuity.

The lineouts in particular were concerning for the Mount Isa side, as crooked throws gifted Cairns possession just when Mount Isa looked likely to attack.

A swift counter-attack from a Mount Isa clearance kick enabled the Thunder more points, as Siti Bates completed his second try in just 20 minutes of play.

A convincing first half performance was capped off with a quick penalty tap which caught Mount Isa napping.

Esera Faaofo finished off the fast move to join Bates with two tries.

Mount Isa re-grouped at the half time break, with a clear emphasis of holding onto the ball and getting sets under their belt.

The results were promising, as Mount Isa dominated much of the second half, however they were unable to translate possession and territory into points.

After 30 second half minutes, Bates broke the deadlock with his third try of the evening to move the match comfortably out of Mount Isa's reach at 29-0.

Fullback Joseteki Murray joined the try scoring party late in the piece to make it 36-0 despite clear improvement from Mount Isa.

Not even the abundance of pesky flies could help Mount Isa, as their clear second half improvement went unrewarded, as Cairns made the most of their limited opportunities to seal the outcome.

Mount Isa's persistence and perseverance were finally rewarded when centre Joel O'Brien crossed with less than 10 minutes remaining to make it 36-5.

That's how the score remained, as Cairns inflicted the ultimate "hit-and-run" win over their opponents, departing the city immediately after the victory to return home.

Thunder coach Troy Jaques was pleased with his team's performance and said the win would act as a strong platform for the rest of the competition.

"It's a great foundation...probably the best we've gone since we started these tournaments so it's looking good for the rest of it," he said.

"I was really happy with the effort, everyone did their job and it was really good to come away with a win.

"I thought our forwards did well, our defensive lineouts were good and we managed to keep the ball."

For Mount Isa Eli Sweeney, James George, Pana Ravouvou and Nick Ngatai were all lively, but a sub-standard first half meant they were never in the contest.

- Pictures: KEAGAN RYAN/7404