The Melbourne travel ban meant the Demons were missing a host of senior players, but the 25.17 (167) to 4.10 (34) final scoreline was a reality check for the home side even though they fielded a depleted side.

Coach Sam Kerridge, leading goalkicker Jed Lamb, ruckman Lachlan Sidebottom, defender Hayden Wright, Zeke Lamb, Kris Bedford, Tate Mifka, Gavin Bowles and youngster Eli Pearce would all walk into the Demons' senior side if available and fit.

Without them the Demons had little answer to a well-drilled Cats' outfit that had its own group of absentees - including arguably their best player in former Kyabram premiership player Tom Holman.

"There's no doubt White Hills will be a better side next time around, but we've got four players to come back in as well,'' LBU coach Brodie Collins said.

"White Hills did cop some injuries through the game, but you can only take the opposition as it comes.

"We went into the game not worrying about who was missing, but rather focusing on who we had and how we wanted to play.

"I'd imagine they found it hard to not to focus on who was missing and it's easy to make that excuse.

"It's a big help having a team full of locals that live locally, while they have a lot of guys who live in Melbourne.

"We got our reality check against Huntly when we rocked up with the wrong attitude. Today we played with the right attitude.

"Our attitude is that the game is done and we move on to North Bendigo where we'll have another red-hot crack."

Collins' lauded Bart Phillips for his shutdown job on dangerous Demons' small forward Mitch Dole, while Jarod Bacon tore the home side apart with six goals from the wing and half-forward.

"We really didn't have a bad player today,'' Collins said. "It was a good day for the club."

White Hills' acting coach Jack Fallon was clearly the Demons' best player.

Rhys Irwin and midfielder Pat Eefting did their best to quell the Cats' flow.

White Hills' cause wasn't helped by a long injury list that led to the club having few rotations for much of the second half.

The Cats raced to a 12-goal lead at three quarter-time and then added 10 goals to none in the final term.

A superb 10-goal haul from 18-year-old Flynn Campbell was the highlight of Huntly's comfortable away win over Leitchville-Gunbower.

The teenager showed why he's so highly regarded by the Hawks as he tormented the Bombers' defence in the 18.12 (120) to 5.2 (32) victory.

Campbell had shared his time between the under-18s and seniors during the first seven rounds of the season, but on Saturday's form he should be in the seniors for the remainder of the season.

"We always knew how much talent Flynn had,'' Huntly coach Stacy Fiske said.

"He's always been able to take a grab, but yesterday he got some more supply and he made the most of it.

"It just shows we do have some good young talent coming through the club, which is really exciting."

Campbell played at full-forward, marked the ball strongly and kicked the ball beautifully.

"Flynn is a special talent,'' Fiske said.

"He's not just a player that takes a mark and goes back and kicks a goal. He kicks goals from snaps in the pocket and he kicks them off the ground.

"He has a big tool kit when it comes to skills. We're really keen to have him in the senior side this year and we're looking forward to seeing what he does for the club going forward."

Midfielder/forward Jordan Formosa played his best game for the club, while Tyler Miles and Jay McDonald won plenty of the ball in the middle and across half-back.

Tom Brereton was best for the Bombers, while clasys midfielder Linc Sieben played well in his first game of the year for the club.

Zeb Ellwood kicked two goals and was in the Bombers' best, while Ayden Walton was a four-quarter performer.

Both sides were missing Melbourne-based players, but it was the Hawks who proved too good on the day.

"I was really proud of the group for the way they handled the strange week,'' Fiske said.

"We got through the game without injuries and I'm sure we'll be better for the run.

"We're happy to get the four points and we'll look to build on that into our game against a league powerhouse in White Hills."

A masterclass from key forward Dylan Klemm led North Bendigo to a 46-point win over Elmore at Atkins Street.

Klemm kicked a career-high seven goals in a best on ground performance in the 19.15 (129) to 13.5 (83) win.

It was the fourth time in the past five games that Klemm has been the Bulldogs' best player.

His key forward counterpart Shane Harris kicked five goals as the Dogs bounced back from a slow start to win comfortably.

"With our two class midfielders (Harry O'Meara and Kow Ngawati) out we had to get a bit creative with what we did,'' North Bendigo coach Matt Dillon said.

"Elmore came out really strongly and kicked the first three goals and I thought we were in a fair bit of trouble.

"We got control back probably halfway through the first quarter and got on top.

"Klemmy and Shane Harris were outstanding, kicking 12 goals between them, and I thought we structured up really well. Our pressure and hardness at the footy was really high.

"To be fair, Elmore was pretty beaten up. On top of the players they were missing, I don't think they had any fit players on the bench by the end of the game."

Zack Holmberg was best for the Bloods, while James Harney kicked four goals and was damaging at stoppages in the second half.

Nick Kellow and Zac Laffy battled hard against the odds for an Elmore that lost key recruit Farran Priest to what appeared to be a serious knee injury.

Mt Pleasant banked a crucial four points in its 10-goal win over Heathcote at Barrack Reserve.

The Blues saw the trip to Heathcote as a real danger game even though the Saints were missing their Melbourne-based recruits.

The Blues, who had Bailey White and Ned Burke play their first senior games, won 23.10 (148) to 13.10 (88) to move to a 4-3 record - the same as fourth-placed Colbinabbin and the two teams meet next Saturday.

"Heathcote had about eight players out and we ended up having about eight players out as well,'' Mounts' coach Darren Walsh said.

"Heathcote has always been a hard ground for us to play on."

"We just had to get the four points, which we did, and it was nice to get some percentage and not get any more injuries."

Walsh was most impressed with the way his side moved the ball.

"To kick that score without (two best forwards) Ben Weightman and Rhys Deacon was great,'' Walsh said.

"We found different avenues to goal and some players stepped up for us."

Teenager Fletcher White kicked five goals, while recruit Blake Grant kicked five goals. Grant, a friend of Mounts' co-coach Adam Baird, was signed by the Blues for the weekend at the last minute from Anglesea after AFL Barwon called off its games.

Travis Baird kicked four goals for the Blues on a day where the club had a good spread of contributors.

Clearly hampered by the absence of their Melbourne-based players, the Saints relied on too few to get the job done. Jake Condon, Loui Piccolo, Ben Connelly and Codie Price (four goals) were best for the Saints.

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