Any thoughts of a premiership hangover following a round one loss to Stratford were thwarted last Saturday as Boisdale Briagolong emphatically bounced back to form against Lakes Entrance at the Lakeside Oval.
The Bombers dominated the opening 40 minutes of football at the Lakeside Oval, piling on 10.5 before the Seagulls even looked likely to score, eventually winning by 100 points in cake walk.
It was a procession out of the midfield, Kel Porter the catalyst for numerous forwards forays from the centre with next to no pressure, leaving the Lakes defenders essentially defenceless as skipper and dangerous forward Jim Reeves slotted four early goals on his way to seven for the match.
While there was a distinct gap in class between the two teams on paper, there was optimism in the Seagulls’ camp with the addition of recruits Sam Brown, Sean Smith and Mitch Banner.
That mattered for little in the early going, the Seagulls constantly under pressure with ball in hand and wasteful as a result.
On the other hand Boisdale dominated at stoppages with big man Matt Wilkinson making an impact, his team ruthless in defence and rebounding fast and in numbers.
James Huts, in first game for the club, was super impressive, looking an ideal replacement for Andrew Quirk who tore his achilles in the off season.
Lakes coach Darren Martin was seething at quarter time as his side went scoreless, telling his troops in no uncertain terms “we knew we needed to win the hunt for the football but we got outhunted”.
Martin was ruthless about his side’s lack of effort and while it wasn’t immediate, the Seagulls responded late in the second term with three goals, all from set shots, one to Ben Rotheram and two to Liam Carroll.
It provided a glimmer of hope and there was optimism home side could slowly chip away at the Bombers’ 48-point half time lead, but it wasn’t to be, the visitors kicking nine goals to one in the second half.
Any side that features Porter, Reeves, Tom Jolly, Jackson Glenane and new co-coach Kade Renooy in its best players will be hard to beat no matter who the opponent.
Reeves was the dominant forward while the resurgent Luke Pratt was damaging with five, with Brandon Rimmington and former Stratford reserves player Reily Rhodes kicking two each.
Dashing runner Tully Davis was excellent for the Seagulls, while Angus McKenzie, Ryan Hooper and Sabastian Etheridge provided an acceptable contest, in an always under pressure back half while Brown was a major ball winner alongside Carroll, while Oscar Brazzale had some good moments.
Boisdale-Briagolong will host Paynesville in a percentage booster, with Reeves a huge chance to get double figures.
The Seagulls will enjoy a bye this week before doing battle with Paynesville at AJ Freeman Reserve in Paynesville on Saturday, May 10.
