A Kyle Cooper masterclass has helped propel Chiltern to a crushing 107-point victory over finals aspirant Thurgoona at Chiltern on Saturday.
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The midfield maestro with the nickname 'Gaz' enhanced his already impressive reputation and had the ball on a string at the reigning premier waltzed to a 24.9 (153) to 6.10 (46) romp.
The shell-shocked Bulldogs failed to score a goal in the opening half as the Swans flexed their premiership muscle in devastating fashion to lead by 10 goals at the main break.
Cooper has won the Swans' past two best and fairests with the 22-year-old regarded as the premier player in the competition last year.
But even coach Brad Hibberson was in awe of his blonde-haired midfielder on the weekend and labelled it the best performance yet of Cooper's blossoming career.
"It's fair to say 'Gaz' put on a clinic on Saturday," Hibberson said.
"To be honest and I said this during our awards, I think that was the best game I have seen Kyle play for our club.
"I know that may sound like a big statement but he went to another level on the weekend.
"He didn't kick a bag or anything like that but stuck to doing the team-orientated things.
"I'm guessing he had 40 touches and I don't think one of them missed a target.
"Just his pinpoint disposal set up everyone in the forward line and he didn't blaze away.
"It was ultra impressive to watch."
Hibberson also led by example in the Swans' midfield as they created plenty of opportunities for their forwards and capped a polished display with three goals.
Last year's grand final hero Mark Doolan shows no signs of slowing down and once again proved his undoubted class with eight goals.
Ethan 'Hooper' Boxall is also starting to recapture his best form after ankle surgery and booted four goals in another huge positive for the Swans.
Ben Jones, Jake Cooper and Jeremy Luff were also important in the win with Luff dominating the ruck contests in the absence of big Bulldog Tom Osmotherly.
Star defender Fin Lappin also made a welcome return for his first match of the season and provided plenty of rebound from the back-half.
Thurgoona sits eighth with a 2-2 record after the first month of the season.
They now face Wahgunyah, Mitta United, Beechworth and Tallangatta in a season-defining stretch which is likely to have a huge bearing on their finals fate.
In contrast Chiltern has laid the foundations for a coveted top-three finish after winning the flag from the elimination final last year.
At 4-0, the Swans are the only undefeated side in the competition and face Tallangatta and Yackandandah in the next fortnight.
Hibberson said the Swans set themselves for a big performance against Thurgoona who are expected to be one of the competition's biggest improvers.
"Internally we set ourselves for this match because we probably faded late the previous week against Barnawartha and probably didn't put them away as I would have liked," Hibberson said.
"So the focus was on a four-quarter performance and a team-orientated approach which we were able to deliver.
"I thought the whole group really brought into the team-first footy and apart from Kyle, nobody stood out and we were able to do all the honest things as a team.
"Our back six were rock solid again, especially in that first-half and having Fin back in the side provides a bit more creativity and he is only going to get better as he regains match-fitness."
