Man management is of paramount importance to Wolves coach Peter Collins as the fixtures pile up. "You've got to put extra thought into the rotation at this time of the season. You hope you don't overdo anyone."

The Wolves met bottom-of-the-ladder Port Melbourne on the road on Saturday and won easily, 14-1. No surprise that Collins opted to use the fixture as a chance to rest regular starting pitchers Jason Lester and Aaron Green. It gave depth pitchers Ryan Camov and Daniel Chircop time on the mound and they took advantage of the situation.

Camov threw five innings for the concession of just one run and Chircop, promoted from the seconds, was tight in his two innings. It was a day Camov is unlikely to forget in a hurry. Not only did he pitch to perfection, he also picked up three hits.

Camov was the recipient of the Stan Camov Medal, an award for best afield in clashes between the Wolves and Port Melbourne, and named in honour of his late father. "It was a special thing for Ryan to win that medal," Collins said. "He was easily the best player on the day."

The day's highlight was a towering home run over left field by Josh Robinson.

The Wolves have wasted no time making an impression in 2012. They burst out of the blocks with a finals-like win over Sandringham and continued the momentum against Port.

"We're starting to make our move up the ladder," Collins said. The Wolves (9-6) still have ground to make up on the leading teams but have proved all summer that if they can make a late run to the playoffs, they could be a dark horse for the title.

"We've now played everybody," Collins said. "We were competitive against the top two. Newport, they're in third, we've beaten them; Sunshine are fourth and we've beaten them twice. Sandringham are fifth and we've just beaten them. A couple of brain fades have cost us [from sitting in the finals positions]."