The Sue Fleming-coached Dogs, who were battling illness, overcame Old Collegians 42-32 to set up an intriguing contest with the Tigers.

"They are looking forward to it, just to measure themselves, and they are very aware of the experience that Merrivale has and perhaps they (Dennington's players) don't," she said. "The true test will be how they do unite as that team."

Fleming said she was pleased with how her side was taking shape.

"They are starting to gel beautifully. They've always had each other's backs - that's never been the issue, it's just to try and knit a new group together is tricky," she said.

"Collegians were solid all day and there were many times it came back to three goals (difference)."

Fleming credited Hannah Rose and Zoe Fleming for their contributions against the Warriors, describing them as "the two standouts".

"Hannah was very solid, both attacking and defending, and Zoe's games last week and this week were world's apart," she said. "She didn't miss goals today and that was quite a credit against (Warriors defender) Chloe (Williams') long reach."

Old Collegians coach Jemmah Lynch, who also had illness to manage throughout her team, was impressed with Dennington and identified areas the Warriors need to adjust.

"It was a physical battle on court and unfortunately a few things didn't go our way," she said. "Overall the girls put in a really good effort, it's just about stringing that 60-minute effort together which we haven't been able to do just yet."

Nirranda remains the team to beat after a comfortable 71-38 win against top five outfit South Rovers.

"We didn't have Jo Couch today, so I was really happy with how we could throw our players around today, especially in the mid court," coach Lisa Arundell said.

Arundell credited the work of South Rovers' goalers Lena Wright and Bridget Hampton and believes the Lions can cause plenty of trouble for teams in the future.

"They're a great team and if they stay together, they're really going to push hard for the top of the ladder this year and be even stronger next year," she said.

Hampton said her group was pleased with how it matched up against the undefeated Blues.

"We were prepared for a strong game but we really played together," she said. "We'll take a lot from the game and go back to training and see what we can work on."

Elsewhere, Timboon fell to Panmure 37-47, while Merrivale's experience won out against Allansford 43-26.

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