Bacchus Marsh wasn’t happy about having two weekends off after just two rounds when the 2017 fixture came out.
Now the Ballarat Football League reigning premiers consider a bye and then interleague weekend as a blessing in disguise.
After two tough matches against Darley and Sunbury Lions the Cobras have some sore players.
Cobras’ coach Travis Hodgson said the two weeks has come at a pretty good time and would give the injured players more time to recover.
Daniel Burton hurt his knee in round one, and while he played in round two was heavily restricted.
Jarrah Maksymow hurt his ankle against the Sunbury Lions. Both will be right for the Cobras next match.
But the extra break will also benefit Scott Sherlock and Ryley Stuhldreier.
Sherlock returned to the field in the second half, despite the leg injury, while Stuhldreier did his hammy early in the second half.
Despite the injuries the Cobras managed to record their first win of the season on Saturday against the Lions.
Hodgson said for all bar 15 minutes they had control of the game. After keeping the Lions goal-less in the first half, the Cobras won 16.12 (108)-10.10 (70).
“It was a really good win,” he said.
“Going back to the grand final we managed to keep them goal-less for four quarters in a row.
“We had a poor 15 minutes in the third quarter when Sunbury kicked five goals in a row.
“We regained control of the game for a good win.”
Hodgson said the score could have been a lot bigger in the first half had they made the most of their opportunities.
“We had 19 to eight inside 50s in the first quarter. Sunbury were really prepared for Maksymow.
“We had to find other avenues to goal and once we started to share it around we had 10 different goal scorers.
“Our ability to have our second tier forwards hit the scoreboard … will determine how we go this season.”
Despite the close attention and ankle injury, Maksymow kicked five goals.
Sherlock was best on ground, while Matt Denham and Alec Del Papa were also dangerous for the Cobras.
It was a special day for the Cobras as they unveiled their first ever BFL premiership flag.
Hodgson said it was nice to have a few minutes to reflect on what they had done.
In other matches, Darley made it two from two with a solid win against Melton.
The Devils set up the win in the first quarter outscoring the Bloods 41-9.
The Bloods reduced the margin, but the damage was done with the Devils winning 13.11 (89)-8.11 (59).
Abraham Cameron was best on ground.
Melton South had a bye.
