Country footy: Brett Eddy and Michael Hartley kick 10, Sam Reid injured

Two ex-AFL players booted 10 goals while Buchan had two father-sons duos in their senior side as Paynesville unleashed three sets of brothers. More in our country footy wrap.

There were plenty of big performances and inspiring stories across country footy at the weekend.

Saturday brought the start of more competitions across the state with ex-AFL players and local heroes making their mark.

Here are some of the biggest.

A tale of two GVL debuts

Former AFL defender Michael Hartley enjoyed a stunning debut for Seymour with 10 goals as the Lions put a difficult pre-season behind them with a big win over Benalla.

Hartley is also listed by Collingwood in the VFL.

Former Essendon and Hawthorn defender Michael Hartley booted 10 goals on his Seymour debut. Picture: Tony Gough

Meanwhile, ex-AFL utility Sam Reid is suspected to have suffered a serious knee injury in Echuca’s win over local rivals Rochester.

In the same game, the three Atley brothers – Jacob, Joe and Shaun – all played together for the first time.

Joe, who is Essendon’s VFL captain, received permission from the Bombers to play in the season opener.

In other games, Mansfield shocked premiership contender Euroa by 27 points away from home.

Brotherly love at Paynesville

East Gippsland league club Paynesville enjoyed a special day during its first home game of the season with three sets of brothers playing in the senior side.

They included the Farquhar (James and Jordan), O’Connor (Ashley and Lachlan) and Walsh (Brad, Charlie and Michael) siblings.

The Gulls went onto win by 78 points against Orbost Snowy Rovers who were missing several key players and its senior coach due to isolation.

Paynesville had three sets of brothers in their senior side. Photo: Facebook.

Winless droughts over across the state

Darley won its first Ballarat league game in 960 days after getting the better of Sebastopol by six points on Saturday.

The Devils held on after Sebastopol threatened to overturn a 38-point margin at three-quarter-time but fell six points short.

Meanwhile, Otway Districts got off the mark in 2022 with a 19-point win over Apollo Bay.

Ben Rippon and Patrick Silo both finished with two goals for Otwat as Josh Bone was named the best player on the ground.

In the Mid Gippsland league, Stony Creek kicked five goals to Thorpdale’s one in the last quarter to come away with a 38-point win for their first win in three years.

Tom Stone was the best player on the ground as Rhys Dixon booted four goals.

Tyntynder recruit thrives in debut

Jason Eagle couldn’t have asked for a better debut in the Central Murray league as he booted 10 goals to lead Tyntynder to a 109-point win over Tooleybuc Manangatang.

Eagle was also named the best player on the ground.

Siddle’s big Omeo and District effort on historic day for Buchan

Tyson Siddle has already matched his 2021 goal tally in just two games.

The Buchan forward finished with 10 goals as his side won a one-sided contest against Bruthen on the weekend.

His performance came after four goals in an opening round loss.

Buchan had two father-son duos play senior footy together on Saturday. Photo: Facebook.

It was a special day for Buchan with two father-son combinations playing in the senior side together.

They were Jeff Walker Senior and Junior alongside James and Billy Joiner.

A big day for Churchill forward

Ben Kearns was a dominant force inside forward 50 for the Churchill Cougars on Saturday booting 11 goals in the North Gippsland league.

His performance came against one of the opening round’s feel good stories, Gormandale who broke a 1300-day winless drought.

Taylor a star recruit for Moama

Stuart Taylor is already proving to be a hit on the border for his new club Moama in the Murray league.

The star forward booted 10 goals in his side’s 140-point win over Nathalia on Saturday in just his second game for the club.

He previously played for Moonee Valley in the Essendon District league where he kicked 33 majors in seven games last season.

Former AFL forward making a mark in Gippsland

Brett Eddy is off to a fast start in the Gippsland league after making the move from metro Melbourne’s Eastern competition.

Eddy finished with 10 goals as Traralgon ran out 121-point winners against Drouin on Saturday afternoon.

Brett Eddy has made a strong start in the Gippsland league. Picture: Davis Harrigan

He booted two goals in the opening round loss to Leongatha.

In the same competition, Warragul and Wonthaggi Power played out a thrilling draw with both sides registering 16.10 (106) at the end of the game.

It meant Warragul fell narrowly short of winning its first game since 2019.

Strapp in lads

Lancaster’s Timothy Strapp was in fine form against Longwood as he finished with 10 majors in his side’s 176-point win in the Kyabram District league.

Wahgunyah continue to put up a fight

Despite all their troubles in the off-season, Wahgunyah is still fronting up every week and putting a team out of the park.

They kicked five goals against Dederang on the weekend.

Nicholas Hynes and Cody Hewat kicked 21 and 16 goals respectively for the opposition.