When North Launceston and Launceston meet in the TSL's Northern derby at UTAS Stadium on Friday night, two in-form units will collide.
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While North Launceston haven't lost since the last derby and Launceston are on top of the ladder, both sides have previously underrated stars showing the competition how it's done.
For the Bombers, it's Jack Avent and for Launceston, Brodie Palfreyman, with the unassuming pair racking up disposals and putting the league on notice so far.
Alongside former coach Taylor Whitford and current leader Brad Cox-Goodyer, Avent has played in all five of North Launceston's dynasty premierships.
Putting together 41 and 32-disposal games over the past two weeks, his performances have really impressed Cox-Goodyer.
"I think he's probably the form player of the competition," he said.
"He's had three best on grounds in a row and he's just playing phenomenal football at the moment.
"I've never seen him play like this so I will be looking to see him stand up on Friday."
His efforts also haven't slipped past Launceston coach Mitch Thorp, who described him as a star and compared him to clubmate Palfreyman.
"He's similar to Palf in many ways that he flies under the radar within their club," Thorp said.
"A lot is made of Cox-Goodyer and [Michael] Stingel but he's as honest as the day is long.
"He does have a lot of handballs per game, he does flick the ball out to their runners and better kickers, so we've certainly discussed his name at training."
Palfreyman, 23, won the Blues' 2017 best and fairest as an 18-year-old before having a shoulder reconstruction and rebuilding his strength while still playing solid football in the following years.
Now leading the media-voted player of the year award, the powerful midfielder is soaring to new heights thanks to a lot of gym and physio work.
"It was pretty evident over pre-season that his strength had returned, and he's only a little fella, but he's quite robust around stoppage, he's quite powerful and has got good speed," Thorp said.
"It hasn't surprised us that he's had a strong start to the year and when you've got [Jobi] Harper, [Fletcher] Seymour, [Jackson] Thurlow and [Jake] Hinds and guys like that, Palf slips under the radar a little bit.
"We are pleased with the season he's putting together and the challenge for him now is to put a full season, he's leading the media award so he's been recognised for his output but we are looking for that over the full season."
With two three-figure wins since his side's solitary loss of the season against Lauderdale, Thorp is looking for a competitive game of football, praising North Launceston's last month.
"They've obviously gone down and beaten the Tigers, they've beaten Lauderdale so we're aware that this Friday night will be really sharp," he said.
"They've probably gone in underdogs in two of those games and I'm really pleased from a competition perspective to see what they are doing as a program and the way they've bounced back into another season given they've lost a lot of players."
The Northern derby was once a North Launceston powerhouse, with the Bombers winning 18 straight over a six-year period until July 2020.
From there, it's been five Launceston wins and three to North, with two premierships and this year's 107-point victory going to the Blues.
"Having played in the last two grand finals, we've had a lot of older guys who have watched a lot of footy [and] some of the footy that's been played in those games have been a really high level and really entertaining from a physical and a standard standpoint." Thorp said.
"Last year we played a night game over there and they beat us, they also beat us here in a final last year, so we are aware what the game presents but we are also looking forward to it.
"That's what you play State League footy for, you want to play against the best on the best venues and UTAS, I don't think anyone can argue, is the best venue in the state."
Cox-Goodyer admitted "we've got a fair way to go to get a win" as a reference to the last cross-town derby loss and is more focused on his players' improvement.
"It's just about that development, [Launceston] are obviously a very experienced team and they've got some good players so we'll be looking for a much better effort than we gave last time but I'm sure we'll give it to them," he said.
"Obviously we've actually started pretty well considering what people thought of us at the start of the year.
"To beat Launceston is obviously a good step but we beat them in the same fixture last year and weren't able to get the job done when it mattered."
The first-versus-third match starts at 7pm.
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