Longwarry vs Poowong 

The game of the round this one. Two heavyweights this year meet at Longwarry for early season bragging rights. 

Both sides are yet to suffer a loss, but with a long injury list, Longwarry might just have the edge over the Magpies. 

Coach Chris Doria said his side are missing six or seven of their walk-up starters, but so far, their backline have stood tall against the challenges posed.

Fabian Stellato, Alex Doria and Jed Benham featured heavily in the win over Nyora, with the likes of Nick Visser, Conor Cunningham and two-time league best and fairest Jack Hazendonk to have plenty of say if the Magpies are to win this tough encounter.

They weren’t at their best last week against Nilma-Darnum, but Longwarry did enough to secure the four points. It’s a week they’ll want to improve on, but coach Aaron Paxton will enjoy seeing the growth of young guns Bailey Stephens, Riley Rundell as well as Kane Oldham already this season.

Oldham has strung together two fantastic games and could be the key in the midfield for the Crows. Wells has already slotted 13 majors for the year and the Poowong backline will have their hands full on Saturday containing the crafty forward. 

Troy Lehman may miss due to an ankle injury, but the Crows aren’t short on talent to come up from the reserves, especially after Justin McCleary booted 10 last week, putting his hat in the ring for selection.

Expect a strong contest, with both sides looking to take it up to the other straight away in what could be a finals preview very early on in the season. 

Buln Buln vs Ellinbank 

Ellinbank will be raring to go after having the week to rest and recover. They easily accounted for Lang Lang at home in round one by 74 points and will be hoping to continue the strong start.

The news surrounding Nathaniel Paredes return to the club will give them more confidence, but Paredes won’t be available for all games, hoping to play between five and eight for the side in 2021. 

Mick Urie was stellar for the Eagles in their last game, as was Mick Johnson and Daniel Risol. They could again be key contributors for the side and watch for the talented Chris Dunne, Liam Anderson and Andrew Quirk to have an impact. 

It’s been a disappointing start for Buln, but there’s no better week to make a statement than this. Coming up against one of the top sides, coach Michael Kruen will be hoping they can cause an upset. 

They have the run, carry and talent, they just have the mesh it together. A youthful team, they play a physical brand of footy and no matter where they find themselves on the ladder, are tough to beat at home.

Kicking 1.12 in the first three quarters ultimately sealed their fate against Lang Lang and with some accurate kicking, it could have been a closer result, given the Lyrebirds led by a point at quarter time. 

Brent Waddell dominated through the middle of the ground and Adam Rakip looked dangerous up forward last week and it’s fair to say Matt Gray will again prove tough to handle at the stoppages. If they can string it all together, they’ll look to push one of the premiership favourites on Saturday. 
 

Nyora vs Neerim Neerim South 

The game originally scheduled to take place at Neerim’s new ground has been moved to Nyora and has a new timeslot. 

With the speedway hosting racing on Saturday, the seniors will begin at around 12:45pm, with Nyora hoping to back up their round two victory.

Coach Dylan Heylen will be one Neerim will need to pay attention to, his stellar performance standing out against Yarragon. Kallon Rigby booted two as did Adam Jamieson and they’ll try and hit the scoreboard again come Saturday.

The young Saints will believe they have what it takes to take it up to the Cats, who have only played one game this season so far. 

It’s clear that Kody Wilson will prove the biggest issue for the Saints. While it was the first game of the season against Trafalgar for Neerim, Wilson looks as if he’s in peak form already, winning plenty of the footy as well as hitting the scoreboard from the midfield. 

The Cats found their feet after halftime and will look to build on the second half performance, with Tyssen Morrow finding his groove alongside Reece Clarke and Josh White.

Tom Muir provided some good run and carry, and coach Brent Mounsey will hope his side can get off to a quicker start this week against a less experienced side. 

Yarragon vs Nilma Darnum

The Bombers will take a lot of confidence out of the game against Longwarry. Many thought they’d roll over, but they showed some fight and kept the margin closer than it might have been in previous seasons. 

The pace of brothers Dylan and Blake Cann was on show, the two able to run out the game all afternoon on opposite wings and it may be a weapon coach Matt Shorey will tap into once again. 

Casey Thomsen will be one to watch, his effort during the second and third quarters admirable against Longwarry’s Wells and may find himself getting the job on Beau Runnalls on Saturday. 

Nilma will lose midfielder Isaac Ketchen for the match, who felt his hamstring go midway through the first term last week. It will mean a month on the sideline for him, testing the midfield depth of the squad.

Brother Clay is also in doubt after a groin injury. He toughed it out for his side booting two goals before icing up in the fourth quarter when the game was gone. 

The Panthers were in the game at halftime and showed some signs they could cause a boil over soon. Every week they take the field, the younger squad are gaining valuable experience and it showed in round two.

They ultimately ran out of legs, but the likes of Anthony Daraio, Tyler Hotchkin, Josh Smith-Butterworth and more will give coach Brad Wheller some confidence going into the game. 

It’s one both sides will be eager to win, the two probably seen as developing this year, so a victory will give the winner a big morale boost. 

Catani vs Lang Lang 

Injuries plagued the Blues last Saturday afternoon, coach Dan Barrand seeing four of his players hurt before halftime. 

This may give him some selection headaches on Thursday night, with forward Matt Barrand joining Lachie Pratt and Ryan Eaton with hamstring injuries, while Cody Banbury suffered a pectoral injury, but managed to see the game out playing deep forward. 

They ran out of legs against Poowong and the flood gates opened in the final term, but the backline, most notably Lachie Gregson, stood tall and tried to limit the damage. 

Brett Williams has shouldered the load in the midfield and if Catani are to win, will have to do so again and they’ll need Jackson Caddy and Will McGindle to stand up against the Tigers as well. 

Josh Collie was impressed with his side after quarter time, as they put the foot down and cleaned up the ball use going forward. 

Clint Fulton may be a tough match up, the small forward coming off five majors against Buln, as will Liam Sumner, the former AFL player driving the engine room for the Tigers.

Travis Kitchin will provide another target up forward and the Tigers will back their ball movement in against the depleted Blues.

Winning back to back games is something Lang Lang haven’t been able to achieve for some time, but they’ll get a real opportunity on Saturday to get themselves to 2-2 in 2021.