But the time has finally come for Tallarook to face arguably its biggest competition in the race for back-to-back titles, when they take on Yea Tigers this weekend.
“We are absolutely chomping at the bit to play Yea,” Tallarook coach Jac Smith-Williams said.
“It will be good to see where we are at in the competition.
“The Tigers, they’ve got some great cricketers.
“I think it will be a fairly even contest.”
Experienced Yea pair Cam Armstrong and Mick Stinear will be obvious targets for Tallarook’s attack, but Smith-Williams said it was several members of a young Tigers brigade who were firmly on his radar.
“Cam and Mick have played some good cricket over the last couple of years,” Smith-Williams said.
“They’re two guys you look out for, but we know what Cam and Mark can produce.
“We’re a bit wearier of guys like Dan Pell.”
On Saturday, Tallarook breezed past their opposition, Eastern Hill, bowling out the Eagles in the final over of the match.
Tallarook captain Lachlan Watts won the toss and elected to bat first, with top order batsmen Mitch Itter (55) and Smith-Williams (70) going on to build a strong partnership.
“We started off well, I couldn’t fault our batting,” Smith-Williams said.
“We got 220 off 44 overs – if you get over 180, you’re going to win most games.”
Eastern Hill’s Ben Bryant got the early wicket of Tallarook opener Ben Cooney, though the home side suffered through a dry spell when they couldn’t break the partnership of Itter and Smith-Williams for a further 116 runs.
With Smith-Williams dismissed on 132 and Itter following on 141, Tallarook continued to make strides on the scoreboard, with Cam Muir, Dan Fisher and Will Dundon producing solid late innings to push the Rooks up to 6-220 by the end of the innings.
Another half century also sees Smith-Williams start his season in irresistible form, with the batsman holding an impressive average of 76.67 from four innings.
Jake Sutherland (3-26) was the pick of Eastern Hill’s attack, while Ben Bryant (2-35) snagged another to go alongside the wicket of Cooney.
With a hefty target in front of them, Eastern Hill had a huge task at the crease, with Tallarook going about business quickly.
Watts (3-5), Leigh Irving (2-13) and Will Dundon (2-23) brought the goods to dismiss Eastern Hill for 118, 102 runs short of a maiden season victory.
The Eagles had some much needed improvement with the bat, Dan Bergowicz top-scoring with 40, while Dan O’Sullivan anchored the innings late with his 35 not out.
Smith-Williams said he was "over the moon" with his team's bowling efforts, singling out Jarrod Flint as a crucial part to the equation.
“It may not show it on the scorecard, but Jarrod is why the other guys got wickets,” Smith-Williams said.
“You're bowling in partnerships and Jarrod put the pressure on the batsmen for not many runs.
“The other guys were then able to finish them off down the other end.”