After a tight tussle in the first term, the Cats began to get on top through the middle of the game and opened up an 11-goal buffer at the final change.

Fatigue set in late in the contest, but Rutherglen maintained control to finish comfortable winners.

Cats' coach Brianna Renshaw was delighted with the performance given how little the side had played together.

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"We got all the first-game jitters out and worked really well as a team," Renshaw said.

"I felt like it was a really good team win.

"The middle two quarters I was really happy with the way we played and we put all our plans into practice.

"We've got a fair few new faces in the A grade team, so I was really happy with that and how we supported each other."

Yackandandah awaits Rutherglen next weekend.

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