Cobras tamed by Seagulls
Cora Lynn's hopes of an upset win in the season opener ended in disappointment on the weekend as they were overrun by Tooradin-Dalmore.
Playing away from home and looking to spoil the reigning premiers' return to their home ground, the Cobras were strong early but overrun late as they fell 7.10 (52) to 14.8 (92).
Coming into the contest with a renewed confidence after a strong off-season, Cora Lynn would have gone into quarter time feeling pretty good about themselves. The Cobras had jumped their much-vaunted opponents, moving the ball with relative ease as they burst to a four-goalto-one lead.
The new-look Cobras forward line, now incorporating current superstar Nathan Gardiner with the returning Ryan Gillis, looked as threatening as they had hoped.
The Lukes, both Black and Ryan, looked assured with ball in hand, and Cory Machaya was at his creative best.
But, as many would have expected, you can't keep the Seagulls down for long.
The reigning premiers, as they so often had last year, responded to the challenge. Turning the game into a contested grind, they first looked to limit the damage on the scoreboard.
The free-flowing game the Cobras enjoyed in the first term soon dried up into a slog, as the Seagulls' midfield got to work.
It was the usual suspects too, like Liam Adams, Adam Galea and Cooper Shipp all having an influence as the Seagulls kicked two goals to one to reduce the margin to just 11 at the main break.
And if the Cobras hoped the break would give them time to reset and come out swinging as they had in the first, they had another thing coming.
The Seagulls were at their slick best in the third, putting on a six-goal-toone clinic.
As they so often do, they shared the load too. Julian Suarez finished with three goals to top their list, but Tooradin-Dalmore weren't left wanting for contributors in the forward half.
Adams, Stewart Scanlon, Hayden Bertoli-Simmonds, Blake Grewar and ruckman PivaWright all managed two goals by the end of the game to no doubt leave the fans happy.
Cora Lynn, by comparison, had Gardiner as their top scorer with three, but he was the only Cobra to score more than one major.
Having seen their lead evaporate and turned on its head, Cora Lynn would need a special effort to overcome the 19-point deficit if they were to secure the four points.
Instead, as we have often seen from this Seagulls outfit, when they had their foot on the throat they simply refused to let up.
Five more goals to one in the final term not only sealed the win but turned it into a rout by the time of the final siren, Tooradin-Dalmore running out 40-point winners.
It's a scary result for the rest of the competition to see, as there were some hopes that the talent the Seagulls lost in the off-season might make them more gettable. Combine that with the fact that the Cobras, who won 12 of their final
13 home and away matches in 2022, are certainly no easy beats.
Both sides will now get a week off to rest, with the Cobras no doubt keen to atone in two weeks against Garfield.
For the rest of the competition, however, they've just been handed a stark reminder: if you want to win the flag in 2023, you're going to have to go through Tooradin-Dalmore.