The boys in navy blue last tasted defeat back in March and currently hold a two-point lead over championship challengers Malvern City with six games left to play of the 2026 campaign.
Now the pacesetters after long-time frontrunners Malvern slipped to three defeats in its last five outings, the Suns stand five wins away from potentially lifting the VPL 2 pot in what remains of the term.
Undoubtedly, the task for the Shepparton side will be to navigate the pressure that the coming fixtures will present - with the objective of securing automatic promotion to the upper tier high on the agenda.
Having defeated Springvale with a last-minute winner from Callum Schorah, that 2-1 victory provided a springboard en route to chipping away at Malvern’s advantage at the league summit.
Of course, a different set of circumstances surround the reverse fixture, as the Suns now aim to make their advantage pay at the top of the standings and clinch three more points on the way to the 15 they need to become champions.
Now, Suns head coach Craig Carley has sized up the opposition as Springvale prepares to make the trip up to John McEwen Reserve in round 22 for what promises to be a compelling clash.
“Springvale are a difficult side to play, we played them earlier in the season and managed to get away with a win there but it was probably one of our toughest games of the season,” he said.
“They’re a good side and Andrew’s got a good bunch of boys there - they’re obviously in a tricky situation because they’re fighting for promotion play-off spots but also in the fight to avoid relegation.
“So I guess that is the beauty of the league this year, where there is plenty to play for, so they’re certainly a side we should not underestimate.
“They play a high line which we’ll look to exploit but it’s great to be back at home so hopefully we can play our brand of football.”
For now, it is clear that Carley is focused on taking it one game at a time, with promotion still very much the key target - irrespective of the possibility of becoming champions.
“We don’t want to look to far ahead, we don’t want to get carried away with where we are - we’e obviously top and that’s great but we’ve achieved absolutely nothing so far,” the Suns boss added.
“For us, it’s about achieving those three wins as quickly as possible to secure that automatic promotion.
“Once we do that, then we can look at going for the championship after that.
“I can’t fault the effort and the work-rate of the boys and I feel immense pride in their commitment to execute the game plans we’ve been asking them to do - so full credit to the players, staff and the club in general.”
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