A 10-goal to one second term broke the game open for the Dragons and they cruised to a 25.14 (164) to 8.7 (55) win.

Key forward Matt Thornton returned to his best form with five goals in a best on ground performance, while Joel Wharton kicked five goals for the second-straight game.

It wasn't all doom and gloom for the Pies, who were far more competitive and their score of 8.7 was clearly their highest this year against one of the top seven teams.

"Maryborough started with some real energy and they had a crack all day,'' Sandhurst coach Ashley Connick said.

"They're holding their spirit really well, which is a credit to their coach and the club.

"They weren't a pushover at all. I thought we played really well and got what we wanted out of it. We got a solid win, banked some percentage and we look forward to next week (against Kyneton)."

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Young midfielder Noah Walsh had a swag of possessions for the Dragons again, while Alex Wharton followed on from his good performance last week with another solid game.

After missing last week's loss to Eaglehawk because of VFL commitments, Cobi Maxted returned and kicked four goals in three quarters before spending the final term at centre half-back.

Three weeks ago Maryborough coach Rick Andrews stated his side would be more competitive after the bye and he was proven right.

The return of some senior players gave the Pies better structure and some targets to kick to forward of centre.

Not for the first time this season, young guns Aidan Hare and Kya Lanfranchi led the way for Maryborough.

Brady Neill and Chris Freeman combined to kick seven of the Pies' eight goals, while big man Liam Murphy held his own around the ground.

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