The Cats got off to a good start with a five-goal-to-three first quarter, and were able to keep their noses in front for much of the evening at Finley.

They were at least two goals up at every break before the Blues went all in during the final quarter.

Numurkah kicked five goals to three to close in on the Cats, but ultimately couldn’t rein in the deficit.

Finley co-coach Andrew Rich- ardson said his team stood up when it counted.

“There were big momentum swings throughout the whole match, but we were able to get the best of it early on,” he said.

“They came at us really hard in the last quarter, but our backline stood up really well under pressure.

“To Numurkah’s credit, they were clearly very hungry for a win after playing well against Rumbalara last week.”

The Blues were aided in the last quarter by an injury to Cats defender Cameron Robertson, who was forced off the ground with an ankle complaint.

His absence left the Cats’ defence lacking height, allowing the Numurkah forward line to haul in some clutch marks late in the game, Richardson said.

“They were able to hit their targets well in the last quarter, Cameron going out of the game certainly hurt us,” he said.

“But the work we did early in the game paid off, and we did well to hold on to the lead we had.

“It was a tough game, and it was won and lost in the midfield.”

Richardson said the Cats were looking forward to next week’s clash with Mulwala.

Barooga crushed Mulwala by 59 points at Barooga yesterday.

Sean Doyle kicked six goals and William Gorman four for the Hawks, while Luke James booted six for the Lions.