LBU delivers in front of premiership heroes

But from the jump, the Cats seemed primed for the occasion, and dominated early proceedings, winning the ball at the source and generating an overwhelming number of inside 50s.

Riley McIvor pounced twice, while captain Brodie Collins added one of his own, as the Cats entered the first break with a 20-point lead after keeping the Bulldogs goalless.

The second quarter saw more of the same from LBU, as Tyler Phillips started to establish himself in the ruck, while Tony McMahon found his range in front of the big sticks.

For all the dominance, however, the Dogs managed to grab two goals late in the term, pegging the margin back to just 19 points at the half and keeping themselves within striking distance.

The sheer number of inside 50s that LBU were able to produce were eventually going to take their toll on the North Bendigo defence, and in the third term they did, with a four goal to one quarter putting the game to bed.

Two goals each in the final term saw LBU run out comfortable winners, taking a 12.14 (86) to 6.14 (50) win, reminding the rest of the competition of just how strong it is when it all comes together.

LBU coach Stacy Fiske was happy with the result, especially after a disappointing start to the year.

“It’s reward for effort,” he said.

“I know that we haven't been playing our best footy for the first half of the year, but in the last month we've been able to put it together a bit better, which is positive for the boys.”

A major sticking point for the Cats earlier this year was the ability for the opposition to generate scores on the rebound, which they have tightened up in the past few weeks.

“It is something we’ve been working on over the last two weeks, the way we move the ball without opening ourselves up to be rebounded against so easily,” Fiske said.

“That was something that we're pretty pleased about, we've been able to control and have a bit more composure with the ball in hands.

“North is a fantastic outfit, and there’s going to be moments when momentum swings and they’re going to get a couple of goals, and they’re fantastic when they get themselves up and about and start getting on top, they’re pretty hard to stop.

“It was a big focus for us to continue to do that over the course of the whole game, but certainly the first half was pretty positive in that aspect.”

The forward line was on song against the bulldogs, with Tony McMahon kicking four, while Thomas Leech and Riley McIvor contributed with two each.

Fiske said the group had put a lot of time into rectifying the early season woes it experienced inside 50.

“They're starting to click a little bit with the way they move, the way they work with each other and so forth,” he said.

“They’ve been really positive for us, I know in that first month they weren't overly happy with how our forward line was operating.

“They got to work on how they work with each other and how we open up space for each other, and they get that reward with a few goals, doing what forwards like to do.”

Despite getting the best of two top-four sides in the past fortnight, Fiske said there was no expectation from the group in the run into finals.

“We’ve had a couple of good weeks but we also haven’t had a consistent full year,” he said.

“The message has been pretty simple over the last month, which has been to continue to get to training, get better with each session, and then do the same thing on game day.

“That’s all our focus will be, just continuing to get better, and wherever that lands us come finals time, we’ll just take what’s in front of us. That’s the best attitude I think we can have as a playing group.”

The Cats will face cellar dwellers Huntly next week, as it looks to extend its winning streak to four and further entrench themselves within the final’s positions on the ladder.

HDNL

It was another tough day on court for the Lockington Bamawm United A-grade netball side, falling to its eighth loss of the season in the Heathcote District Netball League.

The Cats came up against a strong North Bendigo outfit pushing its case for a finals appearance, and were unable to record a victory.

The 28-49 loss means LBU sits eighth on the ladder, still with just the one win from nine games.

There will plenty of optimism around the club, however, as the Cats will face Huntly next week, which sits just one place above them on the ladder with two wins.