Australia already have enjoyed a significant win over their main English rivals as the preparations ramp up for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
Back from the pre-Games chef de mission seminar, Australian boss Petria Thomas is buoyant about what the team will achieve in Glasgow.
The last Games there in 2014 was the only time since 2006 that Australia have not topped the medal tally.
And Thomas has revealed the Australian team struck a crucial deal to take over a key Glasgow hotel for the Games only an hour or so ahead of English officials.
Securing the Glasgow Argyle Hotel back in November 2024 as the AusHQ team hub was a masterstroke, given there will be no athletes' village at the scaled-down Commonwealth Games.
The Argyle will effectively be Australia's team base, with athletes also spread across three other Glasgow hotels.
"We were lucky. We got on the ground early over in Glasgow and secured a fantastic location," Thomas told AAP.
"I think we beat the Poms to it by an hour, maybe, so that was fortunate. We're one-up, at least.
"It really tick all the boxes for us."
Next Tuesday will be 100 days until the Games start on July 23 and Commonwealth Games Australia has announced that every athlete on the team will receive a $5000 grant.
The initiative, worth $1.5 million, continues a scheme that has run for a decade. The big difference this time is that the money will go straight to each athlete, not through other sports bodies.
"It's a great initiative from Comm Games Australia, to help support the athletes in their final months along their journey to the Games," Thomas said.
"It's really exciting and 100 days to go - it's becoming very real, very quickly."
The first team selections will also be announced on Sunday after the national track and field championships in Sydney.
Sprint sensation Gout Gout already made himself unavailable, but his great rival Lachlan Kennedy on Friday became the first Australian to break 10 seconds for the 100m at a home event.
Kennedy will be one of the Australian stars in Glasgow and team officials are confident that Gout Gout's decision will be the exception, not the rule.
Across sports such as swimming, athletics, track cycling and netball, Australia are set to be at or close to full strength.
"I don't think there's any shying away from the fact that we don't want to finish on top. That's what people expect of the Australian Commonwealth Games team," Thomas said.
She added that despite the scaled-down nature of these Games, Glasgow looks ready to deliver.
"I have every confidence, from what I heard and what I've seen on the ground in Glasgow, that they'll absolutely be ready to host a really fantastic Games," she said.
"And as a team, we'll absolutely be ready to have a strong showing there."
