Mooroopna discovered its claws on Saturday to strike down the Eagles in the high country.
Mansfield came into the Goulburn Valley League clash as the raging favourite after the outfits had contrasting losses in round one, but the underdog billing did not faze Mooroopna at all.
The Cats took the game up to the home side from the first bounce, cracking in hard at the contest and showcasing an intensity that was distinctly lacking last week against Shepparton.
But the Eagles were still able to capitalise on some Mooroopna mistakes to take a handy 26-point lead into the main break, leading Cats coach Dale Osborne to urge his charges to take more care with the football in hand.
The message struck home for the Cats, who proceeded to rip the match away from the Eagles with an eight-goal-to-none third term.
‘‘The effort and attitude was woeful (last week) and we spoke a lot about it during the week,’’ Osborne said.
‘‘The main focus was to set the pressure tone early and we were able to do that.
‘‘Our pressure and tackling was fantastic in the midfield and it really stopped them having clean delivery into their forward line.
‘‘We made some simple errors coming out of defence the same way the ball had come in and being such a small ground they were able to switch easily and kick some easy goals, so we just had to calm the ship and use the ball better. Once we did that, we were able to expose them.
‘‘The most pleasing thing was that we got the reward we deserved up forward and it was good that it wasn’t just one focus down there.’’
Tom Brennan was the main beneficiary for the visitors with five majors, but Hudson Thomas (three goals), Tyson McKenzie and Bayden Fallon (both two) all managed multiple majors.
Perhaps the most promising aspect of Mooroopna’s forward setup though was the debut of Jai Carn.
‘‘Jai in his first senior game probably kicked 1.3,’’ Osborne said.
‘‘He’s a real crowd pleaser and plays some exciting footy. He has a huge future at the footy club.’’
After the dominant third term from the Cats, the home side attempted to mount a revival, but the likes of Michael Coad, Kyle Gray, Kai Madgwick and Matt Deane stood tall alongside the attacking weapons to steer their team to a stirring 21-point win.
‘‘We did the hard work in the third and needed to back it up in the last,’’ Osborne said.
‘‘Our senior experienced players stood up to get us over the line. I was ecstatic that we came away with the four points.
‘‘The reward for the footy club was huge, and the feeling back in the rooms was amazing.
‘‘Hopefully the penny has dropped.’’
For the Eagles, a 0-2 start will need to be rectified sooner rather than later, but in James Lawton the side has found a brilliant forward maestro.
The star added another six goals to his season tally, while Dean Carswell, Patty Marks, Ryan Bartlett, Brent Rose and Luke Walsh all battled hard.
Mooroopna 2.4, 3.6, 11.8, 16.8 (104)
Mansfield 3.3, 7.8, 7.10, 12.11 (83)
Goals
Mooroopna: Tom Brennan 5, Hudson Thomas 3, Tyson McKenzie, Bayden Fallon 2, Michael Coad, Jai Carn, Broady Blackley-Dow, Nathan Turner.
Mansfield: James Lawton 6, Will Foster, Patty Marks 2, Jamie Sheahan, Joel Sanford.
Best
Mooroopna: Michael Coad, Tom Brennan, Kyle Gray, Kai Madgwick, Tyson McKenzie, Matt Deane.
Mansfield: Dean Carswell, Patty Marks, James Lawton, Ryan Bartlett, Brent Rose, Luke Walsh.