Has Mansfield sufficiently put the Goulburn Valley League on notice after the weekend?
The Eagles certainly looked the part after a rank-and-file first half against Tatura the previous week gave way to total one-way traffic in the third term that set up a triple-figure margin of victory.
Doing it all again, but even stronger — and from the outset this time.
You have to imagine Mansfield has the firepower to go deep.
It made every drop count in a stunning first term with the home side lodging 15 scoring shots to one behind from the under-siege visitor.
Jarrad Waite stood up with seniority to deliver Benalla’s first major before the Saints fell victim to another streak of 11 straight scoring shots the other way to head into the break with an astonishing 89-point deficit.
It’s relatively common, especially in the top flight, to see games peter out and the margin start to plateau after putting up eye-popping numbers like these in the first half.
There was no such luck for Benalla as the third term mirrored the second — the Saints struck first through Waite before watching the ball sail over their heads for the remainder of the quarter.
Ben Christopher, already with seven goals to his name by this point, took a back seat by “only” notching an eighth as the Eagles piled on six more in the final term to run out with a remarkable 26.17 (173) to 4.3 (27) rout.
Harry Mahoney is an unlucky honourable mention having contributed a bag of six in his own right, while Jayden Howes, Brett Mahoney and William Christopher were named among Mansfield’s best on a stellar afternoon for the Eagles.
Waite battled hard with a pair for the winless Saints, with Charlie McCarthy and Sam Begley given primary credit in a losing side.
Mansfield coach Jack Hutchins beamed at his side’s ruthlessness.
“We didn’t expect that scoreline; we’d been confident of running through games in the past, but had been complacent in the last couple of quarters,” Hutchins said.
“This time it was dominance in all four quarters and the scores reflected that.
“We were able to capitalise on everything, which is a pleasing thing.
“It was quite a dominant display from Ben; just his ability to create space, he was capitalising on it beautifully.
“Jayden Howes was brilliant around the contested ball and it was fantastic to watch and be part of.”
Naturally, turning a rough 0-2 start into a 3-2 record and third place on percentage, albeit with an extra game played, creates a pretty positive atmosphere in the high country.
“It’s a good feeling around the club and rightly so,” Hutchins said.
“The pleasing aspect is that while we had a poor start, we learned a lot of lessons; Echuca made us pay and the way we moved the ball wasn’t working against Shepparton.
“Everything clicked against Tatura last week and when it works, our brand of footy will stack up against the top teams and hopefully deeper into the season.”
Mansfield will go through its paces in a big way during the next fortnight, though.
Next up is Kyabram, which broke free of its nail-biting shackles Saturday and also ended the Eagles’ season in an elimination final last year.
Beyond that, a rematch with reigning premier Echuca, which wiped them off the park in the Good Friday season opener.
“The next couple of weeks will be really good tests for us after we’ve turned our season around a bit,” Hutchins said.