You’ve got to knock them off come the postseason, so why not take a scalp as soon as you can?

Tarrawingee has the chance to spoil the party when they come up against the undefeated Whorouly on the netball court at the Lions’ Den this weekend.

The third-placed Bulldogs have had a solid season to date, winning the matches they should and fighting hard in the contests they’ve lost.

They’re sitting comfortably in the bronze medal slot on the ladder – fittingly, the only matches they’ve lost have been against last season’s grand finalists Bonnie Doon and Whorouly.

Fresh off the bye, Tarrawingee coach Tegan White said they were eager to put some results up in the back end of the year.

“It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out,” she said.

“As a whole, we are all sitting in a good position for finals, we will just need to work hard to keep our spots and keep improving for the rest of the season.

“The ladder is very tight, keeping position and pace is crucial at this stage, but we are going to focus on one game at a time, rather than looking ahead at the finals.”

With towering titans bookending the court, with star shooter Kaylee Allan at one end and Fay Morgan Medallist defender in White herself at the other, and absolute guns slotting in between them, the Bulldogs are a perennial contender.

Whorouly has been the story of the season, sitting on top of the charts with 11 straight wins, ranked top of the pops for both offensive output and defensive frugality.

Their last tussle with the Lions in round six didn’t go to plan, going down 25-42, but White said they had learned much from the encounter.

“It’s a huge game this week for us - it will be a good test to see how we have developed during the season since we played them last,” she said.

“Last time we played, we learnt early on that there is no room for error.

“We need to get our defensive pressure on early, and keep it strong all game.

“We welcome a few players back from injury this week, so we are keen to take the court with our full team.

“Mackenzie Lynch and Mollie Chamberlain have stepped up a lot in the attacking end this season, so to see them continuing to improve is fantastic.”

The Bulldogs take on the Lions from 3.30pm this Saturday on the court at Whorouly Recreation Reserve.

In other games, Greta hosts Bright, the Bats take on the Panthers, North Wangaratta are at home to the visiting Bonnie Doon, and the Roos head to Hopperland to play Moyhu.