Saturday’s five fixtures will feature a raft of high-end talent, although reigning premier Echuca has the weekend off.
That said, there will be no greater concentration of skill per square inch than on the courts at Euroa Memorial Oval, where the Magpies play their home opener against Tatura.
Both sides are 1-0, but with victories earned in markedly different circumstances.
While Euroa’s trip to Princess Park last Saturday was fruitful, strolling home to a 28-goal win despite tough news on the injury front, Tatura’s A-graders mirrored their senior counterparts by breaking Seymour’s hearts at the death.
With one powerhouse under the Bulldogs’ belts, another looms this weekend and Elsie Boyer says the squad’s up to conquering the mountain.
“It's pretty exciting. When we first looked at the draw, we thought ‘oh no’ but we've embraced the challenge,” Boyer said.
“To come away from it two for two would be amazing.
“Euroa is such a strong side. It’s easy to get carried away thinking about what they’ve got going on.
“At the end of the day, though, it’s about what we can do well and what we can execute to come away with four points.”
Euroa seeks only to grow stronger, appearing set to welcome Tylah Marchbank into defence for the first time this season.
Having battled throughout the four quarters to earn an eventual victory against the Lions, Boyer is under no illusions that Euroa presents another tight challenge.
“It’ll take the full 60 minutes to get through this game,” Boyer said.
“We’ve been able to practice staying composed in the moment when it’s pretty tight and we showed lots of composure (last week).
“I’ve spoken to (co-coach Steph Smith-Gorrie) a lot about the fact that every game is challenging.
“Even if we come away with two wins, every game will come with its challenges and we’ll have to go into each game knowing it’s going to be tough.”
As mentioned, it’s a reduced fixture for round two with Seymour and Echuca — which comes off a major boilover defeat to Shepparton United last week — having a bye.
United (1-0) carries that confidence surge into a Deakin Reserve derby against Shepparton (1-0), which made a winning start of its own at the expense of Mansfield.
One more derby fixture lines up this weekend under lights as Rochester (1-0) and Kyabram (0-1) collide on the west end off the back of starkly contrasting fortunes in round one.
Mansfield (0-2) will need to find momentum in welcoming Shepparton Swans (0-1) to the high country, with the visitors coming off a distant defeat to Euroa.
Mooroopna (1-0) has a chance to establish itself as a surefire finals frontrunner in taking on a Benalla (0-1) side that fell well short against Rochester.
