Hepburn had to fight tooth and nail to overcome a new-look Newlyn outfit by eight points in a thriller on Saturday. The Burras’ 17-point lead at the mid-point of the last term almost evaporated when Cats veteran Chris Eastwell held his nerve to slash the margin to just two points in the dying minutes.

But Hepburn had one final ace up its sleeve when, from the next centre ball-up, Brad McKay muscled the ball to brother Andy, who turned on the after-burners to slam home his fourth goal and the sealer for the home side.

Segifili Asa Leausa enjoyed the challenge of his first game as Hepburn playing coach and praised his team's work ethic during a tense final term.

“In the end we just seemed that little bit more desperate for the loose ball,” he said. “I really felt we were throwing ourselves at the footy, diving on the ball and then found open space, which resulted in scoring opportunities.”

Given the result, Cats joint-coach Chris Dwyer was relatively pleased with his team's opening game of the Central Highlands Football League season.

“We're really happy with the way we went,” Dwyer said. “Our new recruits went well. Adam Sewell was our best today, Myles (Sewell) was excellent and Steve (Clifton) was a bit rusty early – he hadn't done a lot of work – but he'll just get better as the year goes on for sure.”

Soon after the Burras unfurled the 2017 premiership flag, they had the opening goal of their title defence on the board.

A beautifully weighted ball from Dan Rees set Mitch McKay on his way to find the chest of Jackson Hogan, who kicked truly inside the first minute.

The Cats’ defence started to tighten, with Adam Sewell and Dan Hammond leading the way across half back.

Wingman Josh Milne started to find some space and when Joel Willmott and Myles Sewell goaled in quick succession, the visitors had snatched the lead at the first change.

Eight points adrift early in the second term, Hepburn's Andy McKay sparked the revival when he soared above the pack and converted after a very heavy landing. He added two more either side of the long break to open up an 18-point lead for the hosts.

The gritty Cats would not lie down. Led by youngster Paddy Parr (three majors), the visitors recovered twice from three-goal deficits to set the scene for the thrilling final minutes.

Next Saturday, dual Hawthorn premiership player and former Newlyn junior Brad Sewell will play for the Cats against Waubra. A day later, Hepburn will take on arch-rivals Daylesford.