The powerful opener, 34, joined the club in 2015 and is now in his second spell coaching at Billson Park.

Popko continues to dominate at the top of the order and his form with the bat - 151 runs at 25.17 - is one of the reasons Albury has made its best ever start to a season in provincial cricket.

Six straight wins has them sitting just three points behind North Albury, the only other unbeaten side in the competition, and well clear of the rest heading into the final weekend of T20s before the return of 50-over cricket.

"Six in a row is the biggest streak we've had in my time and hopefully we can extend that further," Popko said.

"You look at other clubs with a bit of jealousy at times, when you see what they've got happening, their depth and results, but it's an exciting feeling at Albury right now.

"Whether we've got the respect of the other clubs in terms of our cricketing ability, I don't know, but it's not the worst thing to be the underdog.

"But I know we've definitely got a bit of respect in terms of how we go about it and our culture.

"That was the first goal and to strike a bit of fear in the hearts of the other teams when they take the field against us, that's our next goal - and it's starting to turn.

"There's been a few close games where we've limped over the line and I really think you get more value out of those than some hidings because you learn to play under pressure.

"We've had a lot of emotional games so far, ex-players playing against their old team and milestones, so the way the blokes have lifted through those games shows we really are playing for one another."

Popko has scored more than 3000 runs for Albury including 19 half-centuries and three hundreds, with a high score of 114 twice.

He joins Kade Brown in bringing up three figures for first-grade appearances.

"Early doors, there was a lot of pressure on Kade and myself to perform and even when we did, we weren't guaranteed to win," Popko said.

"We didn't have the depth other teams had and we didn't know how to win.

"When you're winning, it becomes a habit and we can see a bit of a culture shift at Albury at the moment where we're going into games with 100 percent belief we can win."

Popko's highest score of the season, 41 off 30 balls, helped Albury to a comprehensive 81-run victory away to Wodonga last weekend.

The club has shaped him as a person as well as a cricketer.

"Alex was disinterested in cricket when he joined us and didn't know where it sat in his life," co-coach Jerim Hayes said.

"He wasn't going to play but he's grown back in love with the game.

"Four of his seven years, he's been our coach and he's been a real staple at the top of the order in terms of leadership.

"We're riding a wave at the moment and that's on the back of people like Alex.

ALSO IN SPORT

"We're big on creating history and Alex is a key figure in where we're rolling.

"He connects everyone at the club. He's the glue and people like that are hard to find.

"He's a fabric guy, he drives that culture and drives the standards whether that's through on-field actions, off-field leadership or just putting his arm around someone.

"You couldn't ask for a better team-mate and I couldn't ask for a better coach."

Popko reaches his milestone against Tallangatta at Billson Park (11am) before Albury take on premiers Lavington from 3pm at Lavington Sports Ground.

"To be 100 games in at a new club, that's the beauty of Albury at the moment; we're creating history," Popko said.

"It's a bit weird not to have those history books like some of the big clubs have but at the same time, we're the ones that are writing the new pages.

"To be the second to play 100 A-grade games, especially with the sort of turnover we've seen at Albury in our time there, hopefully we're the first of many and we start seeing a few mainstays and can build a bit of a legacy.

"Everyone enjoys each other's company and it's much more fun winning than losing.

"We're having a great time at the moment."

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