Both sides have just one loss to their name after 10 rounds and will meet for the first time at Tangambalanga this weekend.

KSC co-captain Guy Telford has been in excellent form, booting 57 majors to lead the league’s goal-kicking standings by 16.

Telford recently put through his 500^th goal for the Hawks in 101 matches over five years at the club.

Tallangatta and KSC have developed a fierce rivalry in recent seasons, following the Hoppers’ thrilling one-point victory in the 2015 grand final.

Telford played 10 games in 2010 at Tallangatta with his brother, Adam, before they both came to KSC in 2012 and 2013, respectively, while several players from both outfits spent time together at Wodonga and Wodonga Raiders in the Ovens and Murray.

“It’s a big one, both of us will know where we are at the end of it,” Telford said.

“We had that grand final we lost by a point to them, so Tallangatta definitely love beating Kiewa and Kiewa love beating Tallangatta.

“Over the last few years, they were struggling, but they’re right up and about these days.

“If you’re knocking Tallangatta off then you’re usually set for a pretty good year.”

But Telford admitted finding a weakness in the Tallangatta lineup won’t be easy.

“Their bests have been spread through the spine of the ground,” he said.

“They don’t have one or two kicking a lot of goals every week, they’ve got six, seven or eight every week and their midfield is a very high standard.”

Telford has been pleased with his own form, but knows it hinges on how well the team is performing.

“Unfortunately, I’m a big, fat, old bloke, so I don’t really go and get the ball too much,” Telford laughed.

“I get looked after pretty well by the boys and try to finish off their hard work.

“I don’t get it every time it comes in, but by weight of numbers it comes in a fair bit and you’re probably going to get one or two.

“It’s nice to kick a few, but my form is depicted on what I’ve got ahead of me.

“Us full-forwards are only really good for one thing, we don’t do much else.

“Ryan Richardson, our ex-coach, does a bit of stats stuff and a couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to kick my 500^th.

“I’ve been able to play at Kiewa when they’ve been in a pretty rich vein of form and been involved in a number of finals series. 

“You’re only as good as your midfield and I’ve been super lucky over the last five years to play with the guys I’ve played with.”

Last year’s grand final loss to Thurgoona still sits in the back of Telford’s mind.

“I think we were up at half-time and while we weren’t expected to win it, we didn’t expect to finish the way we did,” he said.

“The way we’re playing this year is a little bit different to how we have been and it seems to be working out pretty well.”

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