THE decision to send Saint Michaels into bat didn't haunt Wagga RSL at McPherson Oval on Saturday.
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Not liking the look of the deck Bulldogs captain Sam Perry sent in the Saints, but couldn't find the early breakthrough.
Saint Michaels were yet to lose at wicket at the drinks break before Perry struck in the 22nd over.
He removed established openers Josh Purtell (22) and Marty Loy (49) to get the Bulldogs back into the contest.
Unsettling the Saints' rhythm, Jordan Lawrence (5) and Mitch Black (0) were quick to follow before a middle order resurgence took Saint Michaels to 148 off its 40 overs.
Eric Koetz (25) and Kyle Buckley (26) put on 49 for the fourth wicket before Todd Henderson removed Buckley.
As with the opening week, Perry and Henderson led the way with the bat for RSL.
Coming together at 3-25, the pair put on 93 for the fourth wicket to move the Bulldogs score to 118 before Henderson fell victim to Black for 46.
Leading the way with the bat and the ball in his first two matches as captain, the 19-year-old has been enjoying the extra responsibility.
Top scoring with 56, Perry got out in the last over of the match before Suraj Kandasamy came in and hit 14 off Black's over.
With a different looking batting line-up, Perry thought the changes worked for RSL.
"We tried a couple things, we opened with Sam Lempard to give him a crack at the top of the order and pushed Dan (Oakley) down the order," he said.
"I think that paid off as well as it took the pressure off Dan and is it was something for Saint Michaels to think about as well.
"All together our plan worked and we came away with the victory."
After struggling to build partnerships last season, Perry believes the way the team has started off bodes well for the remainder of the season.
"Over the last few years we haven't been able to chase properly, so the last two weeks have been good to see the we chased down 196 last week and 140 this week so it's good signs for the rest of the season," he said.
Taking on Wagga City in the first of the two day clashes next week, Perry is expecting a huge encounter when the two unbeaten teams in the competition.
"We always have pretty good games against them and it will be fiery," he said.
