Playing its first competitive hit-out in more than 18 months, LBU struggled to run out the game against the Saints, falling 14 goals short by the end of the match.
But despite a losing result, coach Jess Hardess said she was proud of the way her team played on Saturday.
“There was lots of excitement and nerves, so I think every grade struggled in their first quarter to settle,” she said.
“But once that happened, I was really happy with how the girls performed, and how they implemented what we've been working on in training.”
With the game providing a first glimpse of how the Cats would perform in a full-match scenario, Hardess was able to identify a number of areas for improvement in the coming weeks.
“It was close, we were only down by a couple goals a quarter,” she said.
“But unfortunately our match fitness wasn't there and we couldn't run out the game with them.
“It definitely wasn't a bad start to the season and we've got lots to work on.”
Standing tall for the Cats were their defensive trio, with Amy Hardess one to watch in coming weeks.
“(Amy's) quite young, she's 21 and really worked hard for the whole game,” Hardess said.
“It was a very defensive game, so Jessie Milligan and Shellyn Hobbs as well, they were absolutely a powerhouse.”
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