A massive weekend of Picola and District football has given insight into which teams are likely to be on top this season.
Picola United and the Deni Rovers played out the closest battle of the round, with United picking up a nine-point win.
In other games it was goals galore, with Waaia winning by 255 points, Katunga winning by 190, Katamatite winning by 79 and Strathmerton winning by 47.
The game at the Picola Recreation Reserve, the most exciting of the round, delivered a final score of 9.11 (65) for Picola United, just enough to beat Deni Rovers on 8.8 (56).
A dominant first term from United proved to be the difference in this clash and coach Darby Walsh said it was good to get the first win on the board.
“We were disappointed with last week and we know we’re a better team than what we showed last week,” Walsh said.
“We were really good for three quarters in round one and we just knew if we had a four-quarter performance or close to it we would get results and that is what our mentality was going into the game.”
Despite the goal of a four-quarter performance, Walsh said United dropped off in the third, however a calming three quarter time talk saw them re-focus.
“The most pleasing thing for me is, the chips were down a little bit, late in the third, early in the fourth, I think they may have just hit the lead or were within a couple of points and then we were able to calm ourselves, steady up and go out there and execute the game plan that we’ve got and that we know works.”
Blake Jorgensen, Jordan Gattuso and Mitchell Heggart were all among United’s best on the day, however Walsh said it was a real team effort.
“It was a really tricky day to pick the best to be honest, we had a lot of good, even contributors.”
Around the grounds, Katamatite could not have kicked off its season better, picking up a massive 79-point win over Jerilderie.
A big 48-point third term got the Tigers over the line, with Samuel Wright among the best players after scoring seven goals.
Waaia has once again sent a message to the competition, defeating Mathoura 39.28 (262) to 1.1 (7).
The Bombers put their premiership credentials forward last week against Strathmerton and there was no stopping them on Saturday, with Charlie Burrows’ nine-goal haul a standout up front.
In an equally one-sided affair, Katunga smashed Blighty by 190 points, while Strathmerton managed to bounce back from last week’s disappointing defeat with a 47-point win over Katandra.
Tungamah, Berrigan, Rennie and Tocumwal all had a week off.