Hanging Rock Oval at Batemans Bay on Saturday was the exact opposite of the Memorial Oval all of last week: bathed in sunshine, warm, dry and without a breath of wind.

Batemans Bay had beaten the Dogs by two points on the buzzer in round one. As hard as it was going to be, Crookwell needed the win for redemption as much as they needed the competition points.

But alas, the boys were unable to put together a full eighty-minute performance. There were indeed periods of absolute brilliance. However, they were all too often followed by, preceded by, or followed by and preceded by lapses of concentration or just a genuine lack of enthusiasm.

Every time the Dogs take the field there has to be someone willing to put their hand up and do the things others don't want to do. Someone has to be willing to put their head where others aren't willing to put their hands. Crookwell rugby never had this person in Batemans Bay. He was there spasmodically, but these things done spasmodically won't win Grand-Finals.

Danny Knight was targeted and shut down effectively. Knight chimes into the Dogs backline with Ferrari like speed and precision. Batemans Bay knew this and gave him little to no time. He still managed to cross once, but D Knight running off L Jones and E Price would result in more than five points if defence is not organised, targeted and effective.

Brad Sparrow had his best game of the year. Brad is a young rookie at the Dogs and is James-Croker-like in his tenacious grinding away at opposition. He was often first to rucks and made several crucial defensive plays. Well played B Sparrow.

Liam Jones had another one point best and fairest performance. His passing was accurate and his tactical kicking was on point. When Jones gets three best and fairest points the Dogs will win. Every time. Look forward to hearing much more about Liam Jones.

Aaron Leighton's performance at halfback was again a highlight. Leighton is now a seasoned veteran and is forming a great partnership with Jones.

Without a doubt the Dogs will take lessons out of this one. Easy lessons like, 'Don't take sides that aren't Jindabyne and Taralga lightly', are obvious and easy to act on. More difficult lessons need to be learned however, like 'Sometimes I'm going to have to be that guy'. The sooner the Dogs learn these lessons, the sooner they will become the threat we all want them to be.

Oh, and James Croker got another try.

Batemans Bay 31 defeated Crookwell 24 (Danny Knight, Charles Zouch, James Croker, Sam Elliott tries) Liam Jones 2 conversions)

Best and Fairest - 3 James Croker, 2 Aaron Leighton, 1 Brad Sparrow and Liam Jones

Players Player - James Croker

Chicks Pick - Aaron Leighton

This coming weekend is a bye for the long weekend, followed by three home games against Yass, Jindabyne and Braidwood.