The side jumped out of the blocks early before running out 17.10 (112) to 12.5 (77) winners.

Demons coach Louie Dalziel said it had been a good start to the season.

“We are obviously pretty happy where things are at being three and nil but it is only the start,” he said.

His side started strongly again to open up a 26-point quarter-time lead and continued its impressive form throughout the game.

A 31-point half-time lead did not change much in the third or fourth quarter before a final margin of 35 points separated the teams.

Slick ball movement and pressure highlighted the win.

Stawell coach Tom Eckel said Horsham were a quality side and it was good for his team to test itself against what he sees as the benchmark.

“We played well in patches but we did not do it for long enough,” he said.

“A lot of it came down to our ball use, they moved the ball better than we did.

“We had enough of the ball, and we had our chances, but we made mistake with the ball.”

Eckel said it was often the last kick into the side’s attacking fifty that let it down.

“We need to do better to give our forwards the best chance at it,” he said.

“Horsham put a lot of pressure on us but we needed to stand up to it.”

Dalziel said pressure and tackling was what allowed his side to keep getting into winning positions.

“We still have not been playing our best footy,” he said.

“It is what we are doing when we don’t have the ball in our hands that we are priding ourselves on at the moment.”

The combination David Andrivon and Travis Graham in Stawell’s forward was identified as a dangerous prior to the game but Jeremy Hartigan and Rhona Conboy stood up for the Demons.

Andrivon slotted five goals for the second round in a row but they came later in the game.

“Our back six just continue to work well together,” Dalziel said.

“Brad Hartigan was a valuable link cutting through the middle and Deek Roberts continues to prove himself in the Wimmera League.

“Joel Geue kicked another five goals, he is really benefiting from the side having some more tall timber in key positions this season.”

Jackson Dark was once again a stand out for the Warriors playing at centre half back while

Eckel said his side would need to defend better.

“There was more things we need to work on than there was positives from the game,” he said.

“The Demons were better than us on the night.”