Queensland have taken advantage of an ill-disciplined Rebels outfit, who had five yellow cards, to post a 43-0 win in their Super W clash in Melbourne.
The home side were outclassed by the Reds, but did themselves no favours - at one stage down to 13 players early in the second half - with a 25-7 penalty count.
The Rebels were forced to make more than 100 extra tackles than their rivals in the round-one clash, and while they toiled bravely they were always on the back foot.
It took five minutes for Reds and Australia captain Shannon Parry to get the scoreboard ticking over, with three tries registered by the 15-minute mark as Queensland built towards a 24-0 halftime lead.
Melbourne's hopes of pegging back the lead took a blow in the first minute of the second half when skipper Ashley Marsters was yellow-carded for a lifting tackle.
With winger Tanya Yabaki already on the sidelines after a late first-half offence, the Rebels only had 13 players - and the visitors took full advantage.
Hooker Tiarna Molloy and fullback Ellie Draper both crossed as Melbourne scrambled to cover the AAMI Park field.
To the Rebels' credit, they only allowed one try in the final 31 minutes but couldn't manage to get across the line themselves.
Queensland centre Cecilia Smith finished with two tries and four conversions in an 18-point haul.
After missing the grand final last year, Parry said it was good for the Reds to start their 2023 campaign with a big win on the road.
"We can draw a lot of positives out of that but we've plenty of things to work on next week as well," the veteran flanker told Stan Sport.
"Towards the back of that game we got a bit tired and we lost our shape.
"It was pretty bruising ... it's always a tough, physical battle against Melbourne."
Wallaroos rake Marsters, who herself received a yellow card, said the Rebels' poor discipline made it tough to compete.
"It really let us down - too many yellow cards," she said.
"There's no question that our team is physical but we needed to play with ball in hand and that's what let us down."
