The round 14 match was the last match before the finals, with the Rhinos sitting in first place and Katamatite at seventh place.
Winning the toss, the Rhinos elected to bat with little hesitation.
Tim Hillier and Noah Bradley opened the batting, getting the Rhinos off to a good start.
The batters were hitting the ball cleanly, with both finding the boundary.
However, while playing a forward defence, Noah Bradley picked up an innocuous knee injury which forced him to retire not out for seven.
The Rhinos will hope for a similarly recovery time to Noah’s injury last season.
Bradley’s retirement brought last year’s C-grade grand final player of the match, Dushan Rathwatte, to the crease, who travelled from Griffith to take part in the match.
Hillier and Rathwatte knocked the ball around well but fell to the talented young bowling of Katamatite.
Hillier was caught off the bowling of Mitchell Carr by James McCallum for 15, and Rathwatte walked gloving the ball down leg side off Harry Paterson, well-caught by wicket-keeper Tim Bye.
This saw up-and-coming Rhinos Cooper King and Lachlan Marshall get a chance with the bat.
Both started finding the gaps in the field, but both fell to Carr.
Marshall (4) and King (12) were both dismissed by good catches, from McCallum and Paterson respectively.
Stephen Marshall also got started but was removed for five by the introduction of the bowling of James Bray, and a great reflex catch by McCallum - his third of the day.
Batters Charlie McCallum and Chris Pyle got the Rhinos to drinks at the 17 over mark, with the Rhinos 5/72 plus a retired batter.
The run-rate for the Rhinos was quite good, however, lack of wickets in-hand was the issue.
McCallum and Pyle got back into their batting easily after drinks.
This was until McCallum was out for 12 runs, caught going for a big shot off Bray’s bowling, caught by Lachlan Sharp.
Rowan Frazer then came in to join Chris Pyle, who was looking steady but was then given out for nine runs, out LBW by Bray.
It was Pyle’s first time being dismissed this season.
Anthony Bradley joined Frazer at the crease with two wickets in-hand and a bit less than half of the allotted 35 overs remaining.
The pair batted deep into the innings, with Anthony using his batting experience to manage the overs well while still maintaining a good run-rate.
The partnership saw 84 runs off the bat, with Anthony retiring on 50.
He brought up his half-century in the 33rd over with a few boundaries, including a six.
Fletcher Campion then came to the crease to finish the innings.
Anthony returned to the crease next over, with Frazer bowled by James McCallum for 34.
Campion hit a six before being bowled by Tim Bye for seven runs on the last ball of the innings, with Bradley remaining 50 not out and only giving one dropped catch chance in his innings.
The Rhinos were all out for 176 after their 35 overs.
Youngsters James Bray (3/11 off five overs) and Mitchell Carr (3/26 off five overs) were the leading wicket takers for Katamatite, with James McCallum taking three catches in the field.
In reply, Katamatite were bowled out for 67 in 25 overs.
Pyle and Stephen Marshall opened the bowling for Deni keeping it tight, with the first wicket coming from a run-out by Rowan Frazer.
Wicket-keeper Lachlan Marshall collected the ball and knocked the stumps successfully.
From there, wickets were shared between the bowlers with Sam Dudley, King, Hillier, Campion and Rathwatte all contributing with the ball too.
Charlie McCallum was a standout in the field with three great catches.
It was a solid 109 run win for the Rhinos before their semi-final this Saturday at Berrigan, against Cobram.
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