But Huntly co-coach Jamie Hogan is adamant that what the scoreboard showed at the end of the Hawks’ round two game earlier this year against North Bendigo wasn’t a true reflection of his team’s capabilities.

The Hawks were hammered by 149 points by North Bendigo that day, losing 27.25 (187) to 4.14 (38).

It was an embarrassing scoreline for a team that entered the season with genuine flag ambitions – and a result that Hogan has been waiting for a chance to redeem since the moment the final siren sounded.

On Saturday the Hawks get that redemption opportunity when they host the Bulldogs in round 11 of the Heathcote District league season.

“Personally, I’ve been looking forward to this game since that last one… it’s not a true reflection of where we see ourselves as a footy team,” Hogan said on Friday.

“We’re happy with the side we’ve got in on Saturday and the boys are very keen to put that first meeting out of their minds and see what they can throw up at North this week.”

The Hawks – coming off a bye – have won their past three games to now be 5-3.

“We know North is the juggernaut of the competition, but we’re confident that our best is good enough to beat them if we can sustain it for four quarters,” Hogan said.

“If we can produce a four-quarter effort on Saturday then the rest will look after itself…  but we want to make sure we do ourselves justice with our performance.

“It’s probably the strongest team we’ve had on the park this year and we’re all about giving North a really solid game.”

Saturday’s games – Elmore v LBU, Heathcote v White Hills, Huntly v North Bendigo, Mount Pleasant v Colbinabbin.