David Braithwaite
COMING off an emotional win over Boisdale-Briagolong, Stratford will again be at home for the second round of East Gippsland football.
The Swans will host another round one winner, Lucknow.
The Swans played with a higher intensity than the Bombers, and were able to hit targets in attack.
Lincoln Toner made a mark in his first game for Stratford, with his ruck work setting up the Swans’ onballers.
Another recruit, Andrew Scott, has added steel to the defence alongside Jesse Broadbent. They will come up against a Lucknow side which had seven goal kickers against Paynesville, led by Joel McNamara, who booted three majors.
The Magpies out-ran Paynesville at the weekend, turning a six-point half-time lead into a 41-point victory.
The result will enable the winner to build on momentum to begin the season.
BOISDALE-BRIAGOLONG will be aiming to rebound strongly from its loss at Stratford when it hosts Wy Yung.
The Bombers will need to settle sooner than they did against the Swans. They trailed by 17 points at half-time, but couldn’t make inroads in the second half, losing by 25 points.
The match was a tight one, but the Swans had the better of the moments that mattered.
The Bombers will take on a Wy Yung side coming off a 33-point loss at home to Lindenow. The Tigers were relegated to playing catch-up after the Cats’ five-goal to two opening term.
The Bombers will not want to begin the season 0-2 with challenging matches to follow against Lucknow and Lakes Entrance, who both won at the weekend.
LAKES Entrance will get an idea of how it’s shaping for 2021 on Saturday, when the Seagulls travel to Lindenow.
The Seagulls were too good for Orbost-Snowy Rovers, winning by 55 points, but will face a tougher challenge on Saturday in the Cats, who will unfurl their 2019 premiership flag before the match.
The Cats began their premiership defence with a strong victory over Wy Yung, served well by a good first quarter.
ORBOST-SNOWY Rovers will host a fellow round one loser, Paynesville.
The teams will consider this a winnable match, with both having their moments in round one, albeit fleeting.
The Blues led Lakes Entrance at quarter-time, only to add one more goal while conceding 10 more. The Gulls only trailed Lucknow by six points at half-time, but were no match for the Magpies there after.