Barnstoneworth United FC was reeling after an injury-riddled campaign saw them finish at the bottom of the ladder, while Waratahs FC was gearing up for its first winter in the competition in several years.

After eight weeks of play, the results are in... both of these sides are genuine title contenders.

Adam Scimone's Waratahs have been nearly perfect so far, winning seven of eight matches after an opening-round draw against Barnies.

The sky blues have been scoring goals for fun, as their points differential sits at plus 11.

They're fresh off a 2-1 road victory against Panaroma FC, and don't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

In the case of Josh Ward's side, it wasn't as dominant throughout the opening month of play, but in the last few weeks, the red and whites have exploded.

They've outscored opponents 14-1 throughout this period and on Saturday, made it a trio of wins on-the-trot, downing Macquarie United FC 2-1.

Barnies might be running red hot at the moment, but Scimone's men aren't looking over their shoulders just yet.

"It's great for the region, what we're doing and what Barnies are doing," he said.

"But if you look backwards you'll never go forwards. I'm just worried about our own performance.

"They're [Barnies] are doing well, but with all due respect... they had Mudgee and then Panorama on an off day.

"I've said it all along, Dubbo Bulls are the best side, they're the champions."

Bulls might be the premiers, but Tahs are undoubtedly the form side this season. Having said that, Scimone says there's still a stack of improvement to come.

"We're probably running at 60-70 per cent," he said.

"We had two guys out on Friday night and we had 11 shots in the first half. If we converted half of those, we would have been up 5-0."

If Scimone was ever unsure of his outfit's potential, it will surely be revealed in the next two weeks as Waratahs travel to Dubbo to face the Bulls next weekend, before returning home for a local derby against Barnstoneworth.

"We just want to stay on top and set the pace," he said.

"Friday night was a real test for us away from home, and it was positive to come away with the win.

"We set out to get as many wins as we could while we were at home, and we've done that."

Tahs and Barnies might be in white hot form, but the standout in this season's Player of the Year voting is Bulls' marksman Jake Settree.

He sits alone at the top with 10 overall points, followed by Orana Spurs' Duncan Cahill.

Barnies' midfielder Grant Koch finds himself on the list with four points, while Tahs' only member is young gun Jadyn Slater. Josh Ward and Craig Sugden have also been standouts for their sides so far.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:

Send us a letter to the editor using the form below