WYNYARD maintained its unbeaten run and top spot on the NTFL ladder but was pushed all the way by a gallant Ulverstone side in their top-of-the-table clash at Ulverstone yesterday.
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In a hard-fought contest with fierce tackling and pressure exerted on the ball carrier by both sides, the Cats led by two points at quarter-time, four at the main break and eight at the last change before going on to record a 10.15 (75) to 8.15 (63) victory.
It was a much closer result than their round 2 clash when the Cats smashed the Robins by 196 points.
Gregg Sharman, Cameron Betts and Nick Hall all kicked two goals each for Wynyard with Zac Smith putting in a strong performance as best on ground with good support from Sam Douglas and Rhys Phillips.
Troy Davies booted five goals for the Robins with Simon Vanderfeen continuing his outstanding form this season to be their best player.
While happy with his side's performance in taking the game up to the undefeated ladder-leader, Ulverstone coach Justin Hays was disappointed not to get the win.
"It was a really good contested game and close all day," Hays said.
"The tackling pressure from both sides kept the scores pretty low."
The Cats kicked away to a lead of about five goals during the final quarter but the Robins hit back to reduce the final margin to 12 points.
"We couldn't quite take our opportunities when we had them and that was a bit of a story of the day," he said.