The championship favourite crushed local rival Wangaratta 89-50 on Saturday night.

“It probably does,” Hickey said yesterday.

“But we know the job’s not done.

“The guys are all as keen as mustard at the moment.

“They were all fantastic on Saturday night.”

The Wolves burst out of the blocks in their 39-point victory at home, taking a 12-point buffer into the first break.

In a blistering display, Trevor McLean sank eight points in just two minutes for the Wolves in the second quarter as they charged out to a game-defining 31-point lead by half-time.

They were never threatened from that point in an uninspiring second-half, where both teams seemed content to go through the motions.

Hickey rotated his bench heavily throughout the game and was left encouraged by the performance of his reserve players after the win.

“It was great to see them acquit themselves well and take the initiative on-court,” Hickey said.

“As a coach, you need to develop bench depth and the guys certainly showed they are worthy of valuable minutes on Saturday night.

“We can go right through the bench and not lose anything on the court.

“There is certainly competition for starting spots which can only be a healthy thing.

“It keeps everyone on their toes.”

McLean scored a game-high 15 points in a solid two-way performance for the Wolves while Jonathon Lindhe, Heath Ohlin and Kyle McMullan also found their way to the basket on a regular basis.

Josh McKay and Beau Sheridan were strong in defence, capturing boards and forcing pressure shots from the Warriors’ forwards.

Julian Campagna scored 14 points for Wangaratta in defeat.

Both teams resume on January 5.