With its premiership defence off to a flyer in round one, Cobram hosted Katamatite at Cobram Showgrounds on Saturday looking to make it two from two to start the season.
Losing the toss and being asked to bowl, the Tigers got off to a solid start as Jeremy Baden removed Katamatite opener Lachlan Raggett (20) early to have the visitors down 1-27, which was soon 2-43 as Jimmy Daniel (2-11) opened his account with a caught and bowled effort.
Daniel snared a second to remove Katamatite number three Ewan Wilson (29) soon after, which opened the floodgates as Lachlan Hyde wreaked havoc upon the middle order.
In a devastating spell, Hyde claimed three quick scalps, as Katamatite watched the scoreboard go from 2-61 to 6-76 in the blink of an eye, as Hyde took 3-15 to give Cobram the upper hand.
Brandon Nicholls provided some resistance for the visitors, adding a patient 60 from number four, but found little help from the lower order, as Cobram blitzed through the tail to bowl the visitors out for 141.
Hyde (3-15) finished with team-best figures for Cobram, while Daniel (2-11) snared multiple wickets, and Baden (1-39), Jack Opray (1-15) and Bodey Webb (1-25) accounted for the rest.
With 142 for victory, Daniel Ellis and Webb got the Tigers off to a solid start, putting on 43 before Ellis departed for 26, with Webb following shortly after for 19 to leave Cobram two wickets down with 48 runs on the board.
Hyde and Shaun Downie would join each other at the crease and power Cobram past the 100-run mark, with Downie adding 30 off 35 before he was back in the sheds, joined very quickly by his replacement Rocco Anastasio, who lasted one delivery, with the home side left at 4-105, needing 37 runs for victory.
It was a comfortable win in the end for Cobram, with Hyde finishing unbeaten on 44, with Eamon Hyde also not out, on 13, as the winning runs were hit, sealing a six-wicket win.
Cobram occupies second spot following round two, behind only Deniliquin, with the Rhinos securing a huge nine-wicket victory over Tocumwal at Tocumwal Recreation Reserve.
Griegan French and Hamish Baker did the damage with the ball for the Rhinos, snaring figures of 4-16 and 3-9, respectively, as they restricted Tocumwal to 9-116 from 45 overs, with only Tocumwal opener Tom White (27) and number 10 Lucas Baron (18 not out) posting scores of note.
It took the Rhinos just 16.1 overs to reach the 117 required for victory, and for the loss of only one wicket, too, as opener Brad Todd and number three Harry Hillier blasted unbeaten scores of 49 and 40, respectively, each hitting eight boundaries, to power the Rhinos to the win.
It sets up an early season blockbuster this weekend, with Cobram and Deniliquin to face off at Memorial Park in Deniliquin in a fight to remain the only unbeaten side.
At Nathalia Showgrounds, Nathalia got its season off to a winning start after having the bye in round one, with a thrilling one-run win over Barooga on Saturday.
Winning the toss and electing to bat, Ewan Congues set the home side on track for a big total after whacking 80 at the top of the order, with a solid contribution of 31 from Brenton Campbell at number three helping Nathalia to 4-150 by the time the pair were back in the sheds.
But Barooga did well to curtail the innings, with skipper Riyaad Henry claiming 4-26 to restrict Nathalia to just 8-194 from there after looking on for a much bigger score.
With 195 needed for the win, the Hawks were on track after a well-made 52 from opener Harvey Johnson and a patient 42 from number five Zach Dunn, while handy contributions from the lower order set up a thrilling finale, as Barooga entered the final over needing nine runs to win.
Kohen Haddrell and Codi Bowden put the Hawks on the cusp of victory, hitting seven runs from the first four deliveries, needing one run to tie and two to win off the final two deliveries.
But Dylan Cunningham was there to save the day for Nathalia, stepping up to be the hero by bowling Haddrell to end Barooga’s innings with one ball remaining, securing a one-run victory for his side.
Archie Congues finished with team-high figures of 3-48 in the Nathalia win, while Campbell (2-22), Scotty Morris (2-23) and Cunningham (2-30) all snared multiple scalps in the win.
