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BELL Park will prepare for its third top-of-the-table clash so far this year, having leapfrogged Grovedale with a 19.16 (130) to 9.6 (60) win at Hamlyn Park.
"We wanted to get the second spot on the ladder back, which is what we think we deserve. We've played well in patches this year but it's good to put in a four quarter effort," said co-coach Tim Sheringham.
After a tight opening term, Bell Park had full control of the play, out-muscling each of their Tiger opponents to provide an endless supply of scoring opportunities.
"Our tackling pressure was really good in the first quarter but we just didn't capitalise on it a couple of times, and it was the same again in the second," Sheringham said.
"We knew that if we just persisted with the tackling pressure then we'd eventually break them."
The Dragons stormed home, kicking 17 of the last 23 goals and producing a forward line highlight reel with a spread of goal-kickers contesting the toughest of marks.
Stephen Paulke, who led the charge with five goals, continues to be the missing piece of the Dragon's jigsaw puzzle after a tough injury battle in 2012 saw him miss out on a successive finals' appearance.
"I've got no doubt that Stephen Paulke will be a massive edition for us in this year's finals series. We missed him very much last year and he's such a focal point," Sheringham said.
"Dylan Weir is also another great example, and I don't even think he's 19 years old yet.
"There's a little bit of an emphasis of getting it to those guys but at the same time we just want to play fast footy."
As the siren sounded all eyes were then fixed on Sheringham's coaching partner, Ben Armstrong.
Initially hesitant to the prospect of being chaired off in his 250th Bell Park match, the veteran eventually gave in to his applauding fans and his eager teammates; departing the ground on the shoulders of Zane Vail and Ben Johnson.
The dual premiership player, interleague player and club best and fairest joins a handful of Dragons to have reached the milestone, however only one, Gary Finnemore, has gone the step further (313 games).
Michael Bright, a third year Dragon, also celebrated his 150th GFL match following a long career at Newtown & Chilwell.
Bell Park will now travel to play a South Barwon side in search of its 20th consecutive win.
Tigers thrashed all over ground - Alex Tigani
GROVEDALE'S five-week stay in the top two came to a an end on Saturday after its 70-point loss to Bell Park.
After scores were level 2.3 (15) at the first break, Joseph Fama ignited a large contingent of Tigers fans, weaving past three Dragons defenders before snapping a goal from 40m.
However, the home side took control of the game from then on, preventing Grovedale going into its forward 50 for the rest of the term.
"We're pretty disappointed because across the board we probably only had three or four contributors who might have won their spot, the rest just got their pants pulled down, which was pretty embarrassing," said Grovedale coach Grant Tanner.
A four-goal third term for big man Jordan Erskine brought the Tigers to within 14 points in the final term but it wasn't to be for the boys from Tigerland, held goalless for the final 35 minutes.
"To the boys' credit, after halftime, we came out in that third quarter and had a red-hot crack. We really thought we were a chance at three-quarter time but then they just ran all over us," Tanner said.
The former Geelong player admitted he was embarrassed about his side's inability to retain possession against Bell Park's pressure.
"We did some really silly stuff, even during our late charge in the third quarter we would turn the ball over and they would kick four or five goals basically because of some really dumb stuff," Tanner said.
"It's been something I've dealt with for the last two years. To see it flashback today wasn't something that I was too happy about."
Adding to Tanner's woes was a shoulder injury to Matthew Broad in the first half.
Broad, who shares a resemblance with fellow long-haired Tiger Ivan Maric in the AFL, was sidelined for most of the match, only his eighth since debuting at senior level in Round 3 last year .
"It looked to be a bit of a knock to the shoulder," Tanner said.
"He couldn't lift his arm above his shoulder so we couldn't get him back on for the rest of the game."
The Tigers will now face Leopold, which has recorded two wins over the past three weeks.
