Gulls mauled by ferocious Lions
Coming into Western Park for their first home match of the year, spirits were high in the Warragul camp. A solid round one victory over Drouin had them confident and hopeful of springing an upset against Moe, who they managed to defeat at the same venue last year.
Despite conceding the first goal of the match, a solid start around the contest and a major to Will Cole in retaliation had the Gulls right in the game.
That, however, would be Warragul's only goal for the day.
From quarter time onwards the Gulls were overwhelmed by the pressure and size of their Moe opponents, and were simply swept aside 1.3 (9) to 15.16 (106).
They certainly didn't help their own case at many stages, their untidiness by foot often leaving them scrambling in defence.
Even more apparent was their lack of a tall target inside forward 50. Coach Jed Lamb has recently been playing through the middle, hoping that the Gulls' forwards can gel in his absence.
But even when their forwards were given an opportunity, the kicks coming in were often high and without direction thanks to Moe's pressure, leaving them as easy pickings for the sizeable Lions defence.
The Gulls players were certainly trying, but at times it appeared to be boys against men. Moe's decision to go tall in their recruiting, with players like the Prowse brothers and the returning Kristian Jaksch, left them with an aerial advantage that Warragul couldn't overcome.
The outs that Warragul had as compared to their round one team were clearly also presenting issues. Goalkicker Lachlan Collihole, tall young gun Liam Serong and gun midfielder Nick Mulqueen were just a few of the names missing, but with how often the ball was flying forward to Moe it's tough to say they would have made the result much different.
With the backline under siege it was an admirable effort from players like Sean Masterson, James Davidson and Cooper Alger, but the weight of numbers meant that a Moe score was always a seeming inevitability.
The first term certainly didn't indicate that would be the case though. The Gulls had a hardened edge around the contest and, despite conceding two goals, appeared up for the fight.
Their lack of a target up forward was identified as an issue, and so Lamb went forward to start the second. That's where the problems began.
Moe, led by their on-ball brigade that included Riley Baldi and Lucas Forato, immediately took dominance at the centre clearances.
Jacob Wood goaled from another costly turnover, Harrison Sim booted another soon after, Dylan Brooks kicked a great snap in the pocket and suddenly the floodgates opened.
Lamb quickly returned to the middle to try and stem the bleeding, but by then Moe was full of run and confidence, nailing the short kicks the Gulls were missing to deprive them of the ball.
And while Kristian Jaksch was having a poor day by his standards, it gave plenty of opportunity to Moe's other forwards to have some fun.
Matthew Barrand kicked three, while midfielders Baldi, Sim and Wood all drifted forward for two each.
There was plenty of feeling in the game too, with words exchanged indicating that there was no love lost between the two teams.
But it mattered little to the final result in the end. The Gulls could kick just one behind for the final three quarters, having been utterly dominated by the new-look Lions.
It will leave them with a lot to work on this week as they prepare to face Leongatha, who have now won 30 straight matches.
They'll need to pick themselves up very quickly if they are to make any sort of match out of that game.