TWO-time Loddon Valley league defending premier Marong has certainly picked up from where it left off last year.
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The Panthers have burst out of the blocks in 2024 with a pair of wins over Mitiamo and Newbridge by a combined 304 points ahead of this Saturday's grand final rematch against Pyramid Hill.
When they met in last year's grand final the Panthers withstood an almighty challenge from Pyramid Hill to win the flag by 16 points and cap an unbeaten season.
In fact, you've got to go back to round four of 2022 when Pyramid Hill defeated Marong by 12 points for the last time the Panthers were beaten, with the club's winning streak now at a country Victoria-best 34 in a row.
The two grand finalists of last year will lock horns on Saturday at Marong's Malone Park in a contest keenly-anticipated by the Panthers against a Bulldogs opponent that demolished Calivil United by 200 points last Saturday.
"We're excited about the challenge ahead. We've built a healthy rivalry between the two teams over the past two or three years and we certainly really respect the way they go about it," Marong coach Linton Jacobs said on Wednesday.
"Fitzy (Pyramid Hill coach Nathan Fitzpatrick) has got them playing some really good footy, so we're going to get a really good feel for where we're at on Saturday.
"We've had two good wins so far and certainly haven't played our best footy yet, so we'll get a good indication of how we're travelling on Saturday."
One of the key points of intrigue surrounding the Panthers heading into the new season is how would the side's scoring profile look following the departure of full-forward Brandyn Grenfell to Nyah Nyah West United?
Grenfell kicked 303 goals at an average of 7.3 in 41 games for Marong during his two-and-a-half seasons with the club across 2021 to 2023.
With Grenfell having moved on it has very much been a case of "scoring by committee" for the Panthers, who in the opening two rounds have kicked tallies of 155 against Mitiamo and 172 against Newbridge.
The Panthers had a spread of 11 goalkickers against Mitiamo in round one and 12 against Newbridge in round two and so far haven't had a player kick more than four in a game as the offensive load has been shared.
"We certainly didn't think kicking a score this year would be an issue for us. We've got plenty of avenues and it has been pleasing in terms of the mix we've got," Jacobs said.
"We've made a few slight tweaks in the way we go about it in terms of moving the ball forward, but all our scoring has probably come off the back of our defence.
We've made a few slight tweaks in the way we go about it in terms of moving the ball forward, but all our scoring has probably come off the back of our defence
- Linton Jacobs - Marong coach
"I've been really happy with the way we've defended the footy over the first two rounds and that has then snowballed into our attack."
The Panthers have conceded scores of just 1.2 (8) against Mitiamo and 2.3 (15) against Newbridge so far.
"Keeping sides to that sort of score shows we're switched on and working hard when we haven't got the footy," Jacobs said.
"I think we've shown we've got a well balanced game at the moment in terms of attack and defence."
Meanwhile, Marong's reserves notched a notable milestone last Saturday, improving to 50-0 since the LVFNL resumed in 2021 following the COVID-abandoned 2020 season.
The Panthers reserves' 50th win in a row was a 66-point victory over Newbridge.
As well as the reserves' 50 wins in a row and the seniors' 34 wins on the trot, Marong's under-18 side is also on a 26-game winning streak, with the total combined win streak among the Panthers' three teams a remarkable 110.
