In their first game since December last year, the Rhinos needed to take all 10 wickets to halt the Purples’ charge, dashing Nathalia’s hopes of a finals appearance in a 53 run win at Memorial Park.
The Rhinos managed 183 all-out after 42.2 overs batting helped by Dean Edge’s knock of 43, which included nine boundaries.
A 60-run partnership between Brodie Bennett (35) and Ash Germano (31) also proved crucial for Deni on their way to their sixth 180-plus score of the season.
Rhinos skipper Brad Todd said the match lived up to his expectations of a tough contest.
‘‘It was a good result for us first up (after the Christmas break),’’ he said.
‘‘We were happy to post 180 and we backed ourselves to defend that total.
‘‘We unfortunately had blokes who had starts but couldn’t go on.
‘‘That came down to both getting back into it and some bad shots. A couple of blokes were unlucky with decisions, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.
‘‘It was good to see a couple of older guys back in the runs and also spend some time at the crease.
‘‘Ash (Germano) and Brodie (Bennett) had a good partnership to set us up for that total. It was good to see Brodie play some shots and get a good score, it will do the world of good for him looking to the end of the year.
‘‘Ash will play a similar role for us moving forward as an older head batting through the middle overs.’’
Despite the big total set, the Rhinos were quickly on the back foot with ball in hand as Nathalia’s batsmen took them to task.
Captain Luke Quinn (27) and first-drop Aaron Harding (27) smashed eight boundaries between them to move their side’s total along quickly before wickets began to fall in clumps.
The Purples went from 1/55 to 6/75, but were not finished with just yet.
Brodie Ross belted five boundaries — including two maximums — in a quickfire 40 to send some nerves jangling in the field before Nathalia was eventually dismissed for 130 in the 30th over.
Bennett (3/13) and South African import Mandus Venter (3/34) were crucial for the Rhinos, while earlier it was Quinn (3/12), Brayden Summerville (3/24) and Ross (2/29) doing the damage for the Purples.
‘‘It was Brodie’s best all round game for the year, but he’s been very consistent with his bowling throughout the year,’’ Todd said.
‘‘As I mentioned last week, it will take Mandus (Venter) time to adjust to our conditions but first up he was good and he will only get better in the next few weeks.
‘‘The ladder is still tight at the top so we need to keep winning to keep a gap on third and fourth.
‘‘This week will be a big test for us so we need to keep going the way we are.’’
The second-placed Rhinos will have what is arguably their biggest clash of the regular season, when they travel to take on ladder leader Cobram for day one of their two-day clash this Saturday.