The Cats let its round two Warrnambool and District league clash slip out of reach off the back of Panmure breaking open the game in the third stanza.

A seven goal unanswered final quarter from the Bulldogs arguably flattered the scoreboard but it was a brutal blow for a young Cats side.

Nowell said he could see the hurt in his players' eyes following the clash.

"When you can get up on the side I class the team to beat, you've got to grab it with two hands and we didn't today," he said.

"The first half we were pretty strong and played our brand of football. But Panmure are a smart side and exposed a few areas to find those weaknesses in the second half.

"They came out and got a few goals, got their tails up and we dropped our heads and didn't get back into the game."

Panmure fell behind by 25 points midway through the second quarter but a goal from Daniel Roache stopped the Cats' ascendency as the Bulldogs snatched back the lead by half time.

Playing coach Chris Bant said his team's third quarter then put the Bulldogs in the position to run away with the game.

"The defensive effort in that third quarter, there was a fairly strong breeze going and we made that quarter a nil-all draw to then be able to run away with it," Bant said.

"We had some sore bodies on the bench so to be able to pile on the goals with no bench and rotations was a good effort from all the boys, they dug deep."

Bant said his side's experience shone through in the end.

"We've got a fairly experienced team so we can work our way through those situations fairly well, and we know when its time to go and play fast," he said. "And other times when to slow the game down when we have to."

With Tom Ryan missing down back, Jacob Moloney took the job on Robbie Hare and had a best-on-ground performance, while Tyler Murnane performed well on.

Injuries to Matt Colbert (concussion) and Jesse Dalton (wrist) will be monitored over the bye.

For the Cats, the encounter will be a steep learning curve, Nowell confident his side was better than what they showed in the final term.

"At least we know we can take it up to the top teams, we've just got to finish," he said.

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