Cavaliers taskmaster Dan Roden barely paid attention to the scoreboard - until the absolute end - on Saturday.
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That was how intense the coach thought the game was, if not close, against Karana.
During one stage late in the tight tussle, the Flames kept challenging for the win and brought the score back to a manageable seven goals.
But Cavaliers took out the honours, surprisingly, 62-38 on an unfamiliar far practice court at the Silverdome amid simultaneous dual State League matches.
Roden never felt victory was a fait accompli against the side that has now won just once in five games.
"The margin [of 24 goals] probably doesn't actually reflect how close the game went," Roden said.
"So, I think being a young side, in the last 10 minutes we probably opened it up a bit, then the goals started to come. Realistically, for three quarters, it was a really tight game. I think we started strong and we linked through the court and our transition was really good.
"But they stepped up the defensive pressure and we had to adjust our game."
ELSEWHERE IN SPORT
Cavaliers did not play its perfect game and picked out some issues. The shooting was well down, missing 29 per cent of shots and the rotations sometimes failed the intent of the coach.
Roden had to admit to learning a lot in the end.
"We took a while to get our connections right and linking again, players not knowing one another well enough," he said.
"When you got a settled combination, sometimes they get into that routine well and instinctively know where to go. When we do change that, it sometimes can upset the apple cart."
But Cavaliers' defensive hustle ensured Karana was not able to score at will.
Defenders Dana Lester and Estelle Margetts found a lot of turnover ball while Lucy Dennis and Shelby controlled the centre court and fed the shooters plenty.
The quartet settled the side like it did during last year's grand final triumph.
"Once that group got back together, they were just very confident and settled, and as a result you can see it on the court and the score," he said.
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