The Spacecats travelled to Dubbo as one of only two undefeated sides, however the side and coach Joe Spicer were fully aware of the dangers the Fishies presented.

With a number of players unavailable – including the in-form Sami Afele and India Draper – Parkes struggled to contain their more experienced counterparts in the early stages.

Taking a 16-4 lead into the break, Parkes held the dominant Dubbo side to a couple of late tries in the second half to go down 28-4 and provide the young Cats with a benchmark to aspire to, moving into the body of the season.

Some bright spots for the Parkes team included try scoring prodigy Lauren Chester crossing for a third consecutive week, while Claire Barber and Paige Hay toiled all day in the back line.

Bethany Magill also continued her development with a typically dependable, mistake-free showing.

In the middle of the paddock, veteran buddies Casey Patton and Demi-Joyce Winter didn’t shirk the challenge from the ultra-competitive Fishies.

Rookie Erin Dwyer stepped up very strongly to fill the void left by Afele.

Players player went to Emeline Lavaka, a day after her 16th birthday, who showed the same big game presence demonstrated by her father at the same ground for a number of years.

The Cats now play the highly touted Westside at home in a strongly anticipated fixture.