AFTER months of preparation, the Muswellbrook Cats will have to shift their focus to round two of the AFL Hunter Central Coast Black Diamond Plate to find their first victory.
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It follows a heavy loss to Lake Macquarie Dockers last weekend to begin their campaign.
Despite a poor opening five minutes, when several goals were conceded, the Cats dragged their way back into the match and slowed down the opposition scoring.
However, they were unable to capitalise themselves and eventually fell victim to the energy and intensity of a newly-strengthened Dockers' side.
The Muswellbrook team made the journey on Saturday without captain Cameron Benkovic, but the skipper will be available as they take on The Entrance Bateau Bay at home on Saturday, July 25.
Kicking off at 2pm, they'll also welcome back several experienced heads to play alongside the likes of Nick Eather, Cody Tsaousis and Dom Tegart who all debuted last week.
The latter of those got off to a promising start despite the 90-21 loss, being named one of the best on ground by coach Steve Mullane.
Mullane remained relatively positive after the match in spite of the score, saying the platform for better performances had been laid.
"The boys kept to the game plan all day, which was great," he said.
"They never gave up and it was really just some execution errors and timing that cost us.
"We had four solid players out today, one was captain and another is in our leadership group, so cohesion will come."
A switch in tactics at training and home advantage should give the side a boost for the coming match in what are likely to be slippery conditions.
Having had several close encounters with their upcoming opponent over the past few years, the desire to get a win over their rivals will also help drive the Cats on Saturday.
