Rockbank faces a brutal month coming out of last week’s Riddell District Football League bye.
Sitting in 10th place on the ladder, the Rams will face premiership contenders in two or their next three matches.
But after seeing his charges show strong signs of improvement in the lead-up to the break, Rockbank coach Gavin Sporle is welcoming the challenge.
The Rams recently pushed Riddell for three quarters in a performance that displayed serious guts and determination.
Sporle is hoping that momentum can be carried forward when his side takes on the fourth-placed Diggers Rest this weekend.
“You always want the guys to come up against the best sides and the week after the bye we will have that opportunity again,” he said.
“For us it is about getting that opportunity to test the structures that we have put in place and see how they hold up against these higher-quality sides.
“We had three quarters of pretty positive football against Riddell. Hopefully, we can do the same thing against Diggers Rest but for a longer period.”
Last week’s bye came at a good time for Rockbank, which was able to reassess after a tough first half of the season.
After making finals last year, the Rams have won just one game in 2015.
When things have clicked for the club, it has looked like a top-six contender – but sustaining that level of play has been a problem.
“We have a really tough five or six weeks coming up against some good opposition,” Sporle said.
“But I think we can really get some strong learning from that … about what it takes to go to the next level.”
Following its match against Diggers Rest, Rockbank will take on Melton Centrals before a hit-out against finals-bound Rupertswood.
