After sitting out the trimmed-down 2020 Canberra Raiders Cup due to the COVID pandemic, it was the Bushrangers who rebounded best running out 36-12 winners and compounding the Kangaroos' early-season casualty ward.

Already severely down on troops after a luckless preseason, returning coach Adam Taylor could only watch on helplessly as he lost young half Jayden McLaughlin and representative prop Aidan Woods in the opening 20 minutes.

McLaughlin had been promoted to the top grade to cover for Tom Casey, who is facing an extended stint on the sideline after being told he needs finger surgery.

"It's too hard to be critical of them considering we only had one fresh reserve and lost our halfback and front rower 20 minutes in," Taylor said.

"There were just a lot of injuries this week, we lost our hooker on Thursday. If this was our full-strength team and that's how we played I'd be filthy but it's hard to knock them when we've been battered from pillar to post in getting a team on the field this week.

"Hopefully we get some players back. It's a never ending casualty ward, when we get one back we lose two."

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McLaughlin's knee will be looked at more closely this week, while Woods is staring at multiple weeks on the sideline with a suspected torn stomach muscle.

The sides were locked six-all in a brutal early-season struggle for much of the first half, before Drury Low intercepted a Daniel Reid pass just 15m out from the Kangaroos' goal line to ensure the home side led at the break.

Tuggernong coach Jarrad Teka was delighted with how his side went on with it in the second half, as halves Jack Heyman and Wezley Alexander-McCarthy controlled the contest behind a forward pack led by Jayden Thomas and Taulauniuo Mariota.

"It was not the best having the year off last year and it didn't help with our preseason but to go out there and play like the boys did today was very pleasing," Teka said.

"You can deal with a lot of things, but isolation when the world's been turned upside down, it took a little while to get the boys back on track. We debuted six players today. It was a fairly young team so pretty happy."

Canberra Raiders Cup round one

Gungahlin Bulls 32 def Woden Valley Rams 22 (S Maloney 2, K Taws, S Tapa tries, B Robertson 3 goals)

Queanbeyan Blues 52 (M Parsons 3, J Butler-Fleming, G Morseu, B Murray, J Mitchell, J Baker, A Tupou, I Latu tries, T Campese 4, G Morseu, J Mitchell goals) def Belconnen United Sharks 12 (E McCarroll, S Wentworth tries, I Willemsen 2 goals)

Tuggeranong Bushrangers 36 (J Heyman 2, D Low, W Alexander-McCarthy, T Mariota, J Haywood-Whiley tries, J Heyman 6 goals) d Queanbeyan Kangaroos 12 (J Sent, G Baker tries, D Reid 2 goals)