THERE'S a saying that in life both death and taxes are certainties.
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And to add a Bendigo Football Netball League spin to that saying, so too continues to be Golden Square beating Kangaroo Flat as the Bulldogs' reign of dominance over the Roos stretched on at Wade Street on Saturday.
For the 46th time in a row Golden Square beat Kangaroo Flat and like they have in so many of those wins during their 23-year streak that dates back to 2001, the Bulldogs did so comfortably by 77 points.
Roos' players and supporters had every right to turn up on Saturday optimistic of their chances of finally ending their Golden Square curse after a strong victory over South Bendigo seven days earlier and taking on a new-look Bulldogs side still finding its feet early in the season.
But from early in the second quarter the game had the familiar whiff of yet another commanding Bulldogs' win over the Roos and that's how it played out, with Golden Square finishing 15.16 (106) to 3.11 (29) victors.
The win has squared the Bulldogs' ledger at 2-2 and there was plenty to like about their performance ahead of a huge challenge next week against Gisborne at Gardiner Reserve.
The Bulldogs brought a high level of pressure to the contest and never allowed the Roos to reproduce the strong-running brand of football that was a catalyst for their win over the Bloods the previous week.
After the Roos kicked 18 goals against South Bendigo they could muster just three as the Golden Square backline led brilliantly by Zack Shelton and Jon Coe was rock solid all game.
There's exciting signs from the newcomers to the team such as Macey Eaton (29 disposals, 11 clearances) and the pacy Zac Tickell (15 disposals), who both kicked two goals, and athletic forward/ruckman Kai Daniels, while it was the Bulldogs' best offensive performance of the season, with their tally of 106 coming on the back of scores of 59 (v Eaglehawk), 49 (v Strathfieldsaye) and 78 (Castlemaine) in their first three games.
Golden Square's classy Jack Threlfall was the leading ball-winner on the ground with 37 disposals (28 kicks, nine handballs), while the Bulldogs' Essendon VFL-listed Ricky Monti (27 disposals, nine clearances) showed just what the exposure at the next level has done for his football.
Monti - now wearing the No.9 formerly of the revered Jack Geary - was instrumental from the outset in setting the tone for the Bulldogs.
Inside the opening 25 seconds of the game Monti had won the first centre clearance and kicked the opening goal.
A minute later Monti added a second goal after a brilliant piece of evasive play in the pocket.
Monti would later add a third goal for the opening quarter with a sensationally-weighted 45m set shot from the flank.
Golden Square went into quarter-time with a 13-point lead, 3.3 to 1.2, with one of the glaring problems early for the Roos their skill execution.
While they cracked in and unlike many of the previous losses to Square during "the streak" weren't blown away in the first term, the Roos' turnovers were an early warning bell sounding.
The Roos had last week recovered from a first quarter deficit against the Bloods, but were unable to do so again as the Bulldogs upped the ante in the second term with five goals to one paving the way for a 40-point lead at half-time, 8.8 to 2.4.
The Bulldogs - who won the inside-50 count 56-35 and clearances 53-24 - added a further seven goals to one after half-time, with the Roos squandering a number of gettable opportunities on a day where they were a mere shadow compared to the previous week.
"Our younger brigade are starting to find their feet and gel a bit, which gave us some more opportunities inside 50 today," Golden Square coach Brad Eaton said.
"We had a big focus today to bring pressure and feed off that. We know that Kangaroo Flat scored well last week and we didn't want them to own territory.
"I thought we held our nerve well today when they had some momentum and that bit more cohesion in the forward half was pleasing."
The Bulldogs had a spread of nine goalkickers headed by Monti's four after he later added one in the final quarter to his three from the first term.
There was a memorable moment for young ruckman Rory McCrann-Peters kicking his first senior goal for the Bulldogs with a 45m set-shot after the half-time siren.
Hard-running midfielder Luke Ellings (32 disposals, five clearances) was the standout player for the Roos, again winning plenty of ball as he continued his strong start to the season for his new club.
Josh Halsall (21 disposals) was the only other player with more than 20 possessions for the Roos, while in his first game for the club pacy Carlton VFL-listed Jack Lefoy had 19 disposals and four clearances.
