North Warrnambool Eagles keeping level headed as the wins flow in

That season was the first time since the club's first foray into finals in 2011 that it didn't feature in the business end of the year.

Before David Haynes took the club to that elusive finals berth in his first season at the helm, the Eagles dwelled in the bottom half of the table from the moment they joined the league in 1997.

Current coach Adam Dowie is well aware of this history.

His side is undefeated, 10 points clear on top of the ladder with three rounds to play and has firmed as premiership favourites heading towards a seventh finals series since 2011.

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But the six-time premiership winning coach's focus is on stopping the club and its players from getting ahead of the ball.

"Because we have been beaten a lot (in our history) we have handled losing OK but maybe winning we haven't handled OK as a club," he said.

"I try and downplay (our wins) as much as possible and our supporters are very respectful of everyone and that's what I want from us as a club.

"I want us to be respected for the way we play and for the way we conduct ourselves if we win, lose or draw because I don't know if in the past if they have quite got it right.

"It was almost like winning was such a great thing that we over-celebrated and after 15 games we haven't lost a game and hopefully we haven't done that."

The Eagles are closing in on their season wins record of 16, which they secured under Graeme Twaddle in 2016 - the last time they finished top of the ladder.

Since 2011, when they finished with seven wins, they have secured victory tallies of 10, 14, 11, 12, 16, 10 and five before reaching 14 so far this season.

The team's defence is the difference between 2016, where they finished runners-up to Koroit, and this season.

Under Dowie the Eagles are conceding almost a goal less than when Twaddle was at the helm - 55.2 points a game compared to 60.6.

The 2016 Eagles, which ended the season with two defeats, were a more potent team up forward - scoring three more goals a game - with 13 games with 100-or-more point scores.

Dowie's Eagles haven't needed to convert high scores as they have only conceded over 80 points on two occasions - Portland (90 in round one) and Koroit (80 in round six).

If Dowie can keep his side's defence running smoothly it's a fair chance to win the league's ultimate prize.

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