The corresponding fixture between these two sides on the opening day of last season saw the visitors run up 80 points which ensured a comfortable victory for them and an enjoyable trip home but Preston Lodge had no intention of letting history repeat itself as they took to the field in perfect conditions hoping carry on the good form they showed last week in the Cup.

Aberdeenshire kicked off but the initial exchange saw them penalised for not releasing in the tackle and although it was a long way out, PL kicker Brian Walls had no difficulty in slotting the ball between the posts to give his side an early 3-0 lead.
Despite this early setback, the visitors looked the livelier of the two sides and some good passing through the backs soon got themselves back inside PL's 22. A charge by No.8 Burton caused the PL defence some difficulty but they soon brought him to ground and from the resulting scrum, Dale Gordon made an excellent clearance kick from a very tight angle.
2nd row Jonny Sked was next to be called on in a defensive capacity as Aberdeenshire continued to cause problems for the defence but once the ball had been recycled from the breakdown, Walls didn't hesitate to boot it downfield and get PL on the attack at last.
A line out on the 22 saw Blair Cowan safely take the ball and his pals in the pack put on a good drive to the line which Aberdeenshire could only stop illegally so there was no surprise when the penalty was kicked to touch 5 metres out. Once again, hooker Kyle Scott found his man and this time there was no stopping the drive which was finished off by the wily Jack Gordon who dived over to score the first try of the game. Walls slotted the conversion and things looked good for PL with a 10-0 lead and only 12 minutes on the clock.
Five minutes later, it was now PL who were gaining ground with some good passes as Scott linked up with Blair Robertson in midfield but when the ball eventualy got to Antoin Penrose, he set off on a long, mazy run through the heart of the defence before scoring a brilliant solo try near the posts. Walls added the extra two and it was now 17-0.
Aberdeenshire's eary enthusiasm had failed to produce any points but after absorbing more PL pressure they finally managed to get three points from the boot of Paxton who was successful from long range to make it 17-3.
It was PL who would close out the half with some of the best play of the match so far. A burst of speed by Chris Dixon broke the visitors' defensive line before the ball was taken to the try line by Chris Anderson but he was stopped just short leaving Jason Riley to finish off the move in style. Walls was on target again to make it 24-3.
That would be the score at the break but as half time approached there was some good rugby on show with a clever line out steal by Blair Cowan, a long range drop goal by Walls that was just wide and finally, a neat chip from winger Finlay Hughes that almost caught the defence napping.

PL started the second half just as they had finished the first and were soon pressing on the Aberdeenshire line near the corner. As the initial move was stopped, some clever play by Robertson meant he was on hand to pick up the loose ball and roll round and away from the defender to score in the corner. Robbie Griffin had come on to take over the kicking duties from Walls but his conversion was just wide so the score was 29-3 and PL had won their first bonus point of the season.
In the 48th minute, PL continued their dominance at the line out and this time it was Sked who was in charge of the ball but the pack made it easy for him and he scored the fifth try with ease to make it 34-3after 50 minutes.
The next 15 minutes would see Aberdeenshire dominating possession which certainly stopped the scoreboard ticking over and it meant that PL had to move into defensive mode for a spell. The back three of Aaron Mitchell, Finlay Hughes and Paul Glynn were called into action to stop some promising moves and Jack Gordon and Jonny Sked caught the eye while winning loose ball on the ground but it didn't matter to Antoin Penrose that quality ball was in short supply because when he picked up just inside his own half it to just one simple step inside and suddenly the gap opened and he was clear to sprint all the way to the line. Griffin was successful with the conversion this time and PL had stretched their lead to 41-3.
Aberdeenshire came back strongly from that setback and enjoyed plenty of possesion inside the PL 22 and after a string of penalties, they finally took advantage of some loose defence and Burton was through to score under the posts. Paxton converted to move the score to 41-10.
This setback only served to fire up PL once again though and after Sked's stormng run to the line, the ball was set up again and sent out to left wing Morton and he was clear to score in the corner. Griffin nailed the difficult conversion to make it 48-10 and the 50 point barrier was about to be broken by Man of the Match Penrose, who this time needed two inside steps from half way and no-one had the speed or energy to lay a finger on him as he sped away to score his third try of the afternoon and make it 53-10.
Aberdeenshire capitalised on some more loose tackles and managed another converted try by Ruthven and Paxton but PL would have the final word in the 80th minute when Jason Riley broke down the left with Morton at his left shoulder. As the defender approached, the easy pass looked the likely option but Riley backed his skills as a footballer and tried to dab the ball forward into the path of the charging Penrose. As it turned out, it's unlikely that any Premiership football team will be calling him soon as the kick was completely fluffed and the ball sprung loose. Fortunately though, Robbie Griffin was on hand to restore order to the situation and he gathered the ball easily and strolled through unopposed to score under the posts. He converted his own try to make the final score 60-17.

So, PL got their league campaign of to a flyer with some good play in both attack and defence and they will hope to extend their good form when they travel south to play Dumfries next Saturday. KO 3pm.

Preston Lodge Team:
P Glynn, F Hughes, A Penrose, B Robertson, A Morton, B Walls, D Gordon
C Anderson, K Scott, C Baikie, B Cowan, J Sked, J Gordon, C Dixon, J Riley
Replacements:
R Mackie, R Griffin, L Reynolds, J Brash