THE sides Warrnambool and District league followers tipped at the start of the season to occupy the ladder's first three positions are finally doing so.
Thanks to an upset, Kolora-Noorat, Dennington and Timboon Demons are sitting first, second and third respectively.
Old Collegians pushed Russells Creek out of the top three with a surprise victory while South Rovers crept closer to the five after a come-from-behind win against Nirranda.
Deakin University and East Warrnambool are still winless.
Old Collegians defRussells Creek
OLD Collegians is on the way to shaking its easybeat tag after defeating Russells Creek by 52 points.
Warriors coach Anthony Wright said his side executed its game plan for the second week in a row.
"We're just trying to hang on to the footy the best we can and not turn the ball over," he said.
"Before, we were just coughing it up but now we're working hard on our skills and disposal so we keep control of the footy."
The coach said he believed his well-structured forward line was the key to victory at Davidson Oval.
"Michael Townsend put in a great performance and centre-half forward Brendan Beer was dominant," he said.
Beer continually pushed up the ground where he took strong grabs and then set up play.
The home side capitalised on a strong breeze in the first quarter, booting 6.4 to Creek's three behinds.
"We never looked back from that stage except for a bit of a lapse in the second quarter," Wright said.
The visitors trailed by two goals at the main break and eight goals at three-quarter-time.
Improvin g each week is the Warriors' sole aim, with finals a distant thought for Wright.
"Mathematically we're a chance but we just want to keep winning games of footy and building on what we did the week before," he said.
"We don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves because (Creek) had half-a-dozen quality players out. It's still good to win though."
Beer was best for the winners while Kangaroos coach Adam Main battled hard in the midfield.
South Roversdef Nirranda
SOUTH Rovers found some spark in the last term to snatch victory from Nirranda, which led until there were about six minutes left of the match.
Lions coach Brett Evans praised his boys' resilience, which resulted in a two-goal victory.
"The importance of winning or losing was massive this week and every player was well aware of that," he said.
"We know we have to stay in touch with the top five."
The Blues took a seven-point advantage into the first change which stretched out to 23 points at the main break.
They were up by 22 points at three-quarter-time.
"In the second quarter they really got on top through the midfield then halfway through the third quarter we started to find our way," Evans said.
"The boys were running and playing on at all costs."
The quick ball movement and the likes of Andrew Uzkuraitis and Ben Hood stepping up in the final term saw the Lions hit the front at Nirranda Recreation Reserve with about six minutes left.
A Nirranda goal caused the Blues to regain the lead before a pair of majors from the Lions cemented their victory.
"We've had a pretty tough draw so far, we've played the top three sides," Evans said.
"But we're winning the games that we should, which is what we need to do."
Onballer Nathan Murphy was a consistent ball winner for the visitors.
Merrivale def East Warrnambool
IT was playing the bottom side but Merrivale approached the match as if it was playing the top side.
"We hadn't had a win in three weeks so we really wanted it," Tigers coach Luke Attrill said.
"It was good to get one."
Merrivale thrashed the Bombers by 148 points.
"We got off to a good start with the wind and kept them scoreless," Attrill said.
"That followed on to the second quarter where we were able to put the game out of their reach."
The Tigers implemented the "run and carry" style of football they want to play this season.
"We haven't got the height to kick it long so we just want to run with it," said the coach, who returned from a hand injury and booted eight goals.
He was impressed with midfielders Trent Harman and Peter Makarona and said Matthew Gleeson as a another big contributor.
Gleeson started at centre-half back before switching to centre-half forward, where he pushed up the ground and directed play.
East skipper Kevin Watts worked hard in defence.
Dennington defDeakin University
CHRIS Keilar rocketed to the top of the competition's top goalkicker table thanks to a 13-goal haul at Dennington Recreation Reserve.
The Dogs forward was two majors behind Kolora-Noorat's Ben Fraser leading into round eight.
Fraser managed four against Panmure on Saturday, ensuring Keilar was seven goals clear of the Power player. His tally is 47.
Deakin University was no match for the home side, which slotted through 9.4 to 1.3 in the first term.
The Sharks booted two majors in the second quarter while the Dogs added eight. Three behinds is all the visitors could scrape together after half-time, when they went into the rooms down by 149 points.
The final margin was 213 points.
Keilar was best on ground, with teammate Justin Nowell also featuring in the best after booting eight goals.
Tim boon Demonsdef Allansford
THERE was another round nine annihilation, with this one taking place at Timboon Recreation Reserve.
The reigning premier ran out a 105-point winner over Allansford.
The visitors were down by eight points at the first break but the buffer stretched to 31 at half-time.
In the third quarter the Demons outscored the Cats by 47 points.
Andy Rylance and Sam Hickey both kicked five majors for the winners but teammate Brad Wiggins earnt best-on-ground honours with a prominent performance across half-back.
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