PYRAMID Hill coach Nathan Fitzpatrick is looking forward to seeing just how the Bulldogs' defensive structures hold up against the Marong scoring juggernaut in Saturday's keenly-anticipated Loddon Valley league blockbuster match of the round.

Although it's still only early July, Saturday's clash at Pyramid Hill is shaping as a grand final preview, with the Bulldogs (10-0, 298.4%) and Panthers (10-1, 294.7%) - two clubs with combined premiership droughts of 105 years - the clear-cut standouts.

One of the traits of the Bulldogs' unbeaten record has been their ability to stifle the opposition, conceding an average of just a measly 38 points per game.

Meanwhile, the Panthers have been a scoring machine, averaging 147 points per game and kicking at least 20 goals in seven of their 11 matches.

"Marong has certainly been very potent offensively, so it's going to be a great test," Fitzpatrick said on Friday.

"We've obviously got a couple of key match-ups already in mind. Zac Dingwall will most likely get the job on Kain Robins and Dylan Morison will play on Brandyn Grenfell.

"Dylan has been terriffic for us at full-back all year and just finds a way to get a fist in even when it looks like he's being burned on the lead."

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There has been no bigger defensive assignment in the LVFNL this year than opposing Marong full-forward Grenfell.

Grenfell is a runaway leader in the league's goalkicking with 90, which includes 71 in his past seven games - 9, 10, 13, 6, 8, 14 and 11.

Second on the LVFNL goalkicking is Bridgewater's Josh Martyn with a distant 42.

The Bulldogs, though, did a superb job of containing his influence in round four when Morison kept Grenfell to two goals in Pyramid Hill's 13.9 (87) to 11.9 (75) victory.

While neither side will be at full strength on Saturday, a big omission for the Bulldogs is midfielder Steven Gunther (back), who has been in ripping from over the past six games and also hitting the scoreboard after booting five goals against Bears Lagoon-Serpentine in a 94-point win last week.

As well as the keenly-anticipated senior clash, the Panthers (11-0) and Bulldogs (9-1) are also the two benchmark sides in the reserves competition.

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