Australia has charged into event finals, as a podium lockout looms for freestyle stars while Cam McEvoy lays down an early marker in the 50m as the Dolphins continue to dominate the pool in Glasgow.

After claiming six golds on the opening day of competition, the Dolphins are in a strong position to match or possibly even surpass that effort after a string of strong heat swims across the board.

400m gold medal winner Lani Pallister faced off against up-and-coming WA swimmer Inez Miller, with the pair finishing first and second in their 200m heats.

It was a strong showing from the 19-year-old who is on her Commonwealth Games debut, with the pair securing the top two seeds into the final.

They will be joined by Mollie O’Callaghan, who edged an entertaining duel with New Zealand’s Erika Fairweather, and you expect both will lift having qualified fifth and sixth, more than a second slower than the 1:57.02 mark set by Pallister.

It sets up a mouth-watering final at 2:21 am with all three a genuine chance to take gold and possibly lock out all three steps of the podium.

“It’s definitely been a big challenge,” O’Callaghan said after her race.

“Before trials, being told I wasn’t able to swim was a big shock, honestly.

“We’ve been managing it, with my team; I know when to trust in them and listen to my body.”

Cam McEvoy cruised through to the semifinals of the 50m freestyle, finishing with the second fastest time behind Canadian Josh Linedo.

After an average start, the Paris champion stormed home to finish in 21.87 and will be joined by Flynn Southam (22.03) and the brother of Shayna Jack, Jamie, who posted 21.95.

“Got the job done; that’s literally it,” McEvoy said after the heat

“I’ve been around the block; I know how to go through the rounds, and I’m happy with that.”

Middle distance swimmer Sam Short looked in ominous form as he showed why he came into the Games as the favourite for the 400m title.

He cruised through his heat in 3:46.23 and will be eyeing not only gold but also Ian Thorpe’s long-standing Australian record of 3:40.08.

“Really excited to get out tonight and have a red-hot crack,” he said.

“(It will take) probably the perfect swim; I am going to give it all I’ve got, not going to think about the time.”

Iona Anderson bounced back from a disappointing 200m backstroke final to blitz her 100m heat and was looking at the positives after a disappointing start to her campaign.

“I reflected on my race, took away my key takeaways and stuff, reset,” she told Channel 7 after her heat.

“But like for me, that was still a really great swim last night. It was my third fastest time ever.

“So just taking the positives away from that and putting that into the rest of the week of racing.”

However, the breakout performance of the morning session belonged to Sienna Toohey as the 17-year-old stunned with a dominant victory in her 100m breaststroke heat.

She finished more than a second clear of her nearest rival and will be joined by Tara Kinder and Ella Ramsay in the semifinal swims.

Australia also qualified fastest for the mixed 4x100m thanks to a strong anchor leg from Hannah Casey to put Australia in the lead before Alex Perkins cruised home to seal the victory.