DROMANA had a resounding 13-point win over Rye in a Nepean League match at Dromana Recreation Reserve on Saturday.
The Tigers have now claimed second place on the ladder, sitting just above third-placed Hastings on percentage and two games shy of top-placed Sorrento.
Rye star forward Justin Van Unen is one of the league's toughest assignments for any defender and Dromana coach Gavin Artico tried a different approach in tackling the star.
"You look at his numbers and he is kicking over seven nearly every week," he said. "We went just looking to limit his supply as much as possible."
Despite the Tigers's best efforts, Van Unen made the most of his chances to boot eight majors, most of them coming early. The former Oakleigh Charger's tally has now grown to 93 from just 12 matches.
At the other end of the ground, the Tigers were able to find a number of avenues to goal through Steven Gaertner, who booted four majors.
Jerryd Savage, Michael Hunter and Anthony Bruhn contributed three each. Rye welcomed the return of ruckman and former Mt Eliza gun Lyle House, who gave Rye captain Rhett Sutton some much-needed support.
The Rye ruck duo engaged in battle with Dromana ruck pair Gaertner and Seamus Thomson, neither gaining clear dominance.
The game see-sawed before Dromana gained ascendancy in the final term. In spite of the work from Rye midfielder Adam Kirkwood, Dromana held off the Demons to win.