He carded a smooth 2-under-par 69 at Millbrook to move to 11-under for the tournament and an outright lead of one shot.
No fewer than 11 fellow Australians surround him on the leaderboard, and the best New Zealander is way down in a tie for 22nd - a rather depressing number for the local fans.
Bransdon is 41 and arguably the very definition of a journeyman. He has won second-tier tournaments and is halfway towards the $1 million Open title, something that would drastically alter his career given the doors it would open.
He knows it is not time to get too excited but the goateed Victorian would rather have a one-shot lead than be in the pack.
"It's always nice to be up front because you don't have to make as many birdies to win," Bransdon said.
"I'm old enough to know I can't take a backwards step. I have to keep going forward and making birdies.
"As good as these young guys are these days, they don't fold. They don't know how to not play well."
Bransdon followed his lovely 63 at The Hills with a steady performance at Millbrook, carding two birdies in a blemish-free round.
"I kept out of trouble, kept it in play, kept it on the greens. I just didn't make the putts I did yesterday. I found the greens a lot harder to read.
"There were a few putts I could've made but I really struggled on being definitive with my lines so I couldn't expect too much."
The round of the day was posted by a man from the same country but with a smoother face.
Matt Jager burned The Hills for a 9-under-par 63, taking him to 10-under for the tournament and a tie for second alongside Aaron Pike.
Jager fired eight birdies and an eagle along with a single bogey at the course at which he was leading amateur in the 2010 New Zealand Open.
"I knew right from the start that the birdies were happening," Jager said.
"I just kept the ball in play really well. I didn't make any loose swings and I was putting pretty nicely. It all happened in a flash."
Jager knows some low scoring will be needed over the weekend, especially if the weather holds.
Asked - only partly tongue in cheek - if he was guilty the Australians were again set to spoil the party at the Open, his response was firm.
"Absolutely not, mate, considering what you did to us in the cricket a couple of weeks ago."
Other Australians who need to be watched this weekend include the classy pairing of Marcus Fraser (8-under) and Nick Cullen (7-under).
On a relatively grim day for the New Zealand contingent, Tauranga's Josh Geary and Hills professional Craig Palmer were the leading contenders at 5-under.
Mark Brown and Brad Shilton are at 4-under, while Ryan Fox, Michael Hendry and David Smail all scraped through on the cut line.
A couple of the Japanese players are loitering with intent. Toshinori Muto, a regular at this tournament, is at 7-under, and Kunihiro Kamii is at 6-under.
For the second straight day, a golfer hit a hole-in-one - and for a second straight day, it was on the "wrong" hole.
New South Wales golfer Ed Stedman used a 4-iron to ace the 185m par-3 fourth hole. His only prize was making the cut, some consolation for not performing the feat on the 16th hole (where the prize is a BMW) or the 10th (a ring).
