After reeling off three consecutive wins, the Bulldogs have made their best start to a season since the Jarrod Twitt coaching era in the mid 2000s to sit second on the ladder.

Both teams were undefeated after two rounds for the first time since 1998 before the Raiders lost to North Albury last week.

With the crosstown rivals emerging as top-five contenders, the Anzac Day clash at Birallee Park could have a huge bearing on both teams’ finals prospects for the first time in more than 10 years.

“It’s a massive game for both clubs,” Harding said.

“For us it’s just about taking the game on and having a crack and keep getting better.

“Internally as far as the playing group is concerned, each week is massive and there is no one biggest rival.

“But from our members and supporters point of view, Raiders are definitely our biggest rival without question.”

Wodonga notched its biggest win for several seasons after downing league heavyweight Yarrawonga last week to help celebrate Bulldog captain Sam Maher’s 150th match in style.

Harding said he was wary of the players suffering a letdown after such a promising start to the season.

“To be honest, I’ve been worried about a letdown every week since round 1,” he said.

“But to the boys’ credit, we celebrate a win really well but get back to doing the hard work on the track straight away.

“They are a professional bunch with some really good support structures in place to keep their mind on the job.”

Harding said he wasn’t surprised North Albury were able to roll the resurgent Raiders last week.

“I think it just highlights how even the competition is and how you really need to be on your game each week,” he said.

“North are a really good side and we were lucky to get the points in round 1 after they dominated parts of the game.”

Harding declared boom forward Daniel Bradshaw a certainty to play on Saturday after missing last week with general soreness.

Ben Fixter would also be considered for selection after missing the last two weeks with general soreness.