KOLORA-NOORAT coach Ben Kenna is becoming increasingly aware of the pitfalls his men face should they start matches on the back foot.
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The Power was ultimately a comfortable 46-point victor against Timboon Demons in their Warrnambool and District league match at Terang Recreation Reserve.
But the 11.15 (81) to 5.5 (35) win came after it trailed by seven points at half-time. Its 1.8 return for the half was its lowest in years and potentially club history.
A seven-goals-to-one third term proved how quickly the Power can score when controlling play. But the slow start was cause for some concern for Kenna.
“We’ve just got to be on,” he said.
“If we start a bit slow and a bit flat we’re going to make hard work of every game. If we’re a bit sharp at the start, we can get on a bit of a run.”
Kolora-Noorat had first use of the breeze against Timboon Demons but hit quarter-time leading by just three points, 1.4 to 1.1.
The Demons somewhat capitalised on their encouraging start, leading 3.3 to 1.8 at the long break, but the promising signs proved a false dawn.
The Power went on a match-defining 7.4 to 1.0 run in the third term to snuff out any chance of an upset and outscored the visitors 3.3 to 1.2 in the last term.
Power teen Luke Tebble led all scorers with three goals while ruckman Matthew Fidge earned plaudits for his efforts against Demons giant Marcus Hickey.
Onballers Stephen O’Connor and Joe Kenna, Scott Judd, Nick Kenna and Michael Sleeman were also among the best.
Tom Westmore kicked two goals and was the Demons’ best along with Andrew Blake, Sam Newey and Ben Saunders.
Kenna praised Timboon Demons for their early efforts.
He said the third-term turnaround came after his men, kicking with the aid of a strong breeze, started to initiate the play.
“We got all our better players around the ball a bit more and wanted to get the footy in their hands,” he said.
“That probably led to better ball use and not turning it over as much.”
Timboon Demons coach Brendan Hickey said the third-quarter rout continued a frustrating theme for his side this season.
The Demons have been outscored 33.21 to 8.9 in the period immediately after half-time in their six matches.
“They really dominated the clearances for a period there and got some footy into their forward line and got right back on top really quickly,” he said.
“That dropped a bit of morale with us too. We worked really hard for a long period and had a lead and in the space of five minutes that lead was gone.”
Hickey said he gave the Demons’ first half “a big tick” but knew their fitness had to improve.
“I don’t think there’s an easy solution to our third-quarter problems. It’s just a case of keeping working on our fitness on Tuesdays,” he said.