The Dragons took their record to 5-0 on the back of a great team defensive effort against the Bulldogs.

Despite not having their most accurate day in the goal ring, the Dragons extended their lead at every change to win by 11 goals.

After a tight first half, the Dragons turned up the defensive pressure in the third quarter.

They allowed Gisborne just 11 attempts at goal for the quarter and it was lucky for the Bulldogs that goal shooter Ella Bertachinni and goal attack Rachel McKenzie were on target.

Mid-court turnovers and good rebounding allowed Sandhurst to have 20 attempts at goal in the third quarter and the Dragons connected on 14 of them to grab a seven-goal lead at the final change.

That trend continued in the final quarter as the Dragons conceded just eight goals.

It was an important win for Sandhurst as it now has two weekends off thanks to inter-league and the bye before its highly-anticipated clash with fellow undefeated side Eaglehawk on June 2.

The Borough had the bye this round and will face South Bendigo the week before the Dragons clash.

Golden Square showed great tenacity to come from behind in the final term to defeat South Bendigo.

The Bloods looked set to record an upset win, but the Bulldogs stormed home to win 40-37.

Square is percentage outside of the top five ahead of its crucial clash with fifth-placed Kangaroo Flat on Sunday, May 27.

Maryborough is in fourth place after it defeated Strathfieldsaye by 18 goals on Saturday.

The 63-45 result was Maryborough’s highest score of the season.

The Magpies face a huge month to round the first half of the season, with games to come against the big three – Gisborne, Sandhurst and Eaglehawk.

The Storm, who are winless at the bottom of the table after five rounds, have the next two weekends off.