Gallery | Mooroopna gets its bite back in dominant Goulburn Valley League showing

The match was a one-sided contest from the get-go as Mooroopna booted five opening term goals to Tatura’s two behinds.

Quarters two, three and four followed a similar pattern as the Cats piled the pain on an under siege Bulldogs backline.

As the final siren blared and gave Tatura players respite, the host celebrated an 18.16 (124) to 1.10 (16) victory.

One clear highlight from the match was the performance of small forward Kobie Issell.

The young gun Cat kicked seven goals in a season and career-best performance.

Lamont said Issell had been threatening to rip games apart in recent weeks.

“(Issell) has had a couple of games where he has kicked 2.4 or 2.5,” Lamont said.

“He kicked 7.3, so he has had 10 shots at goal and his work rate was up.

“Jack Osborne (two goals) returned to our team, he has been out since round one, and he is another developing youngster who is only 18 or 19 and only his second game, but he is a taller bloke in the forward line and it helped us structure up a bit better and that helped Kobie as well.

“Kobie has the ability to get the ball on the lead, take a contested mark, but he can also get ground ball.

“To have an extra tall in the forward line it stretched Tatura a little and helped Kobie.”

Another attacking Cat who is emerging in the competition is key forward Logan Campbell.

Mooroopna’s key focal point this season backed up his five-goal haul from the previous weekend with four more on Saturday.

The victory moves the Cats to a record of 3-8 and, while a run to finals is unlikely for Lamont and his men, they do only sit two wins away from sixth-placed Shepparton.

However, Lamont said he wasn’t looking towards finals as a goal, instead, he was focusing on developing and growing the Cats' cornucopia of youth.

“I have been impressed by our performances in the last two weeks against Echuca and a much-improved, with a few inclusions, Benalla; we got done, but I was pleased with them,” he said.

“You come up against the bottom side and I had a little feeling of trepidation.

“The most pleasing aspect from the match, from my point of view, was our discipline. We were able to control things early on and we stayed on task.

“You can start taking liberties if the pressure isn’t there, but generally speaking I was really pleased with our young group and the way they stayed focused, at it and kept their pressure up.

“Despite their tender years, there is a level of maturity coming into their game.”

The Cats produced one of their most consistent four-quarter efforts against the Dogs, kicking four or five goals in every term.

Lamont said his on-field leaders played a big role in not letting the Cats stray from their game plan.

“Our leadership group of Ben Hicks, Rory Huggard and Dom Gugliotti as leaders, and (Gary Cooper medallist) Kai Madgwick (two goals) is in that group as well, they have a young group,” he said.

“They have to lead with their voice and actions and I thought those four were crucial in keeping the squad on task.

“Kai Madgwick had a terrific game through the midfield.

“Jed Woods continues to elevate his game through the middle part of the ground.”