SFL live stream: Cygnet begin new season with clash against Sorell under lights on Saturday night

The Port has made a major statement to kick off the 2023 SFL season, and they are backing it up following a huge Round 2 win. Watch the REPLAY now.

Cygnet have laid down an early marker for their season, the Port means business.

Cygnet were unstoppable in their first match of the Southern Football League season, demoralising Sorell in a 114-point rout under lights at Cygnet Oval.

WATCH THE FULL MATCH REPLAY IN THE PLAYER ABOVE, SCROLL DOWN FOR THE RESERVES

Their leaders were on song from the opening whistle including vice captain Joseph Direen who booted hom seven majors in the 21.17(143) to 4.5(29) shellacking.

The match was over before the two teams walked back up the tunnel for the main break, but it did not stop the premiership contenders from producing a massive seven-goal final term.

As the Sorell side began to tally their wounded, the Port ran in a 47-1 final term to put the exclamation mark on the contest.

Port skipper Lachy Watt had identified young gun Cameron Walter as a player they had high aspirations for in 2023, and he did not let his leader down.

Walter booted him three goals of his own in a strong cameo off the bench.

Cygnett had earlier taken out the reserves fixture in what was a much closer content, edging their rivals 8.10 (58) to 6.4 (40).

Replay: SFL Round 2 - Cygnet v Sorell (Reserves)

Preview: Cygnett ready to prove their premiership clout

Cygnet see fierce rival Huonville are the early SFL premiership favourites, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have enough belief in themselves to hoist the cup at the end of the season.

The Port begin their 2023 campaign against Sorell under lights on Saturday and you can catch all the action as part of a big reserves/seniors doubleheader LIVE on Kommunity TV from 4pm. See the schedule.

Huonville opened the SFL season in emphatic fashion last week with a 51-point smashing of last year’s undefeated premiers Lindisfarne to establish the Lions as a force to be reckoned with.

Both Cygnet and Sorell watched Round 1 from the sidelines with a bye and will now look to make their own statement when they square off.

Port skipper Lachy Watt admitted while he was impressed with the Lions’ big Round 1 win, he still believed the Port could match it with the best.

“After the result last week I’d definitely be saying Huonville (is flag favourites) after they came out and beat an undefeated team by 60-odd points,” Watt said.

“They’ve had some massive recruits in the off season and have a lot of top-end talent, as well as the depth, to also get them through. But at the same time, we are still hoping we can challenge them this year,” he said.

With three debutants set to take the field, Watt said he was excited to kickstart the Port’s season against the up and coming Eagles.

Cygnet’s Lachy Watt and Sorell skipper Adrian Butterworth. Pic: Nikki Davis-Jones

“They (Sorell) showed some really promising signs last year and were a good young side,” he said.

“They’ve lost a few quality players, but at the same time they’ve picked up a few as well, so I’m really looking forward to getting out there and seeing how they shape up.

“They’re a young side so I think they’ll have lots of run and it’ll probably be pretty scrappy to start with, depending on the conditions, but hopefully it’s a good quality game of football.”

With star recruit Will Cleeland unavailable for the clash, as well as Paddy O’Neil, who is recovering from an ACL injury suffered last year, Watt said young gun Cameron Walter was a teammate he had big hopes for this season.

“Obviously he won the goalkicking with over 100 goals (in the Colts) a couple of years ago and then last year he played only a handful of games in the reserves, but still kicked plenty of goals,” he said.

“With losing James Zeitsen in the off season, we are really hoping that Cameron can come in and play that same role, that high hit-up half forward and be really damaging around goals. And he’s had a brilliant pre-season so far.”

After huge improvements shown in 2022, Sorell co-captain Adrian Butterworth said his side was eager to take another big step this season.

“Cygnet are a quality outfit led by (coach) Thor (Boscott) and Lachy and the boys, and we are really excited to get our young blokes out there and try and bring it up to them,” he said.

“We obviously made finals last year for the first time in a long time and we are looking forward to excelling on that. We want to use our young talented group and use our speed to try and really push for another finals spot.”

Cygnet fell to Lindisfarne in last year’s grand final.

Butterworth was full of praise for star recruit Will Poland, but revealed he was in some doubt to take the field on Saturday.

“Will is a strong leader down back and really has an influence in a game. I’m really looking forward to what he can contribute to the team,” he said.

“We had a practice game where he niggled his shoulder but he seems to be going all right, so it’ll be touch and go whether he plays this week or not,” he said.

Butterworth had also been impressed by fellow new recruit Brock Daniels, who joined the Eagles from Hobart on the eve of the season following the Tigers’ decision not to field a senior side this year.

“He hasn’t trained a real lot because of what’s happened at Hobart, but he’s come in and played a couple of practice games and really impressed us,” he said.

“Obviously he’s a very good footballer and he had a very good year last year. He has fit into the side really well and we’ll use him to his strengths.”