Blake Govers was back in the Kookaburras line-up and, almost inevitably, back on the scoresheet with another double as unbeaten Australia marched on with a handsome 4-1 win over Ireland in the FIH Pro League in Rourkela.
The deadly marksman struck twice from penalty corners on Thursday as the Kookaburras made it six wins out of six to launch what has been an extremely encouraging start to their Olympic year in India.
Nathan Ephraums and player-of-the-match Jack Welch also chimed in with sharp goals as Australia finally wore down and outplayed Ireland, just as they had in their 5-0 win over the league newcomers in Bhubaneswar nine days earlier.
Though the Kookaburras kept up their big-scoring feats, now having tallied 28 goals in their six matches, they made rather heavier weather of it than usual as they converted just three of their 13 penalty corners.
By halftime, they still hadn't opened their account, with the Irish giving them plenty of trouble, but there was an inevitability that Govers would eventually break through with a sweet drag-flicked corner in the 33rd minute.
Ephraums scored the second later in the third quarter as the Irish defence failed to clear their lines after Australia's botched penalty corner attempt, the ball pinging around the circle like a pinball until the 24-year-old forward struck decisively.
Shane O' Donoghue got one back from a short corner for the Irish but by the fourth quarter, the Australians were beginning to click into gear, with Govers bringing his international tally of goals to 142 in 153 matches with his 90th successful penalty corner strike.
It was also the 27-year-old Wollongong striker's seventh goal of the tournament this season.
Welch then hammered the fourth, high and handsome into the top corner four minutes from time to complete what he felt had been an impressive win.
"We've been following our processes well, been learning each game," he said.
"Ireland are a good side, they've had some close results the last few games and I think we played really well, especially near the end, had a lot of ball possession, a lot of control, so pretty happy with the performance tonight."
The Aussies' perfect record gives them 18 points from six matches, but the Netherlands, league leaders and defending champions, maintained their five-point advantage when they later defeated Spain 4-3 in Rourkela.
Another major clash is looming with the latest Kookaburras-Netherlands duel to be staged on Sunday, which will mark the end of the Indian leg of the tournament.
