Warragul Industrials got a taste of what the best can do after they were swept aside by Nar Nar Goon on Saturday.
Fresh off their bye, the Dusties showed plenty of endeavour but were broken down over the course of the day, conceding 11 goals to three past half time as the reigning premiers proved far too good.
The 6.4 (40) to 19.8 (122) defeat, their second of the season, served to show that while the Dusties have no doubt improved on last year, they still have some way to go.
Not helping their case were injuries to important players Kuiy Jiath and Will Gibson, leaving them short on the bench for much of the day.
The Goon's fearsome forward line was again on song, Dermott Yawney (five goals) the best of them as 10 different Nar Nar Goon players all hit the scoreboard.
Dusties recruit Jeremy Monckton was one of his side's players who could hold his head high as he ran up and down the wing all day.
Fellow recruit Goy Lok gave his all in the middle, battling hard against the league's premier engine room. Kyan Willis' pace down back helped him take several strong marks, while skipper Michael Debenham and the Beck brothers willed themselves from contest to contest.
But for every winner the Dusties had on the field, the Goon seemed to have two.
Premiership captain Trent Armour was at his commanding best, putting on a dynamic display through the midfield.
Half back Ryan Bromley was stellar, as were Max McGreal, Jake Smith and Aidan and Nate Pipicelli.
There's a reason the reigning premiers have begun their campaign without coming close to a loss. The sheer quality they boast across the ground has been the envy of the competition this year and while premierships certainly aren't won in May, there's not much reason to think the Goon aren't going back-to-back.
The early stages of the day saw the two teams feeling each other out. Tex Marsham opened the day with the Goon's first goal from a towering contested mark only for Lok to respond in turn with a skilful snap.
From there the home side eased into proceedings as Armour, Harrison Brain and Trent Keysers found the big sticks.
A free kick to Tim Hancock gave him a late goal, keeping the Dusties in touching distance at the first change and there was still plenty of hope after Tom Cornwall cut into that deficit again just after quarter time.
The challenge had been laid down before the Goon. And as great sides do, they responded. With impunity, too.
Kicking off with Yawney's first goal, Nar Nar Goon really got rolling, piling on the pain as they won plenty of the ball and hit up their plethora of targets inside 50.
The Dusties were made to pay for several lapses defensively. A loose man here, a missed kick there.
A hamstring injury to Jiath before half time left them having to improvise to fill the gap their star rebounder left.
It wasn't until partway through the third quarter that Warragul Industrials would trouble the scorers again and by then the damage was done, the deficit having grown beyond 40 points.
A Dusties double gave some hope that respectability might be maintained on the scoreboard, but the oncoming wave of Goon goals proved too big to avoid.
Six more goals to the home side in the final term put an exclamation mark on a big day at the office, the Goon having seen off another finals contender by a sizeable margin.
Like a lot of their other matches this year, there was enough to like from Warragul Industrials. The problem is sustainability.
The Dusties have been patchy for most of the year and while they've gotten away with their lapses against other teams, Nar Nar Goon are too good to let that happen.
Other than the short-term concern of the how the game blew out, the Dusties may be sweating on the long-term effects. With finals on the cards their percentage of 88.89 is by far the worst in the top six. Next week's match-up with the struggling Inverloch-Kongwak may be the tonic they need.
Dusties coach Bob McCallum said his side needed to fix their consistency within games if they wanted to improve.
"It was pretty similar to a lot of our other games, we're in it for a fair bit and then we just lose our way for patches and allow teams to score too easily," he said.
"I suppose the positive is we've still got a lot of upside if we can get it right, the negative is we're at round seven and still making the same mistakes."
Despite the defeat, McCallum was confident that with a few adjustments his side could "bridge the gap very quickly."