The Blues claimed their first major scalp of the Warrnambool and District league season when they held out Kolora-Noorat in a slog at Noorat on Saturday.

Club officials believe the win was their first in the fixture since the Power entered the league in 2003 — a drought which was into its 13th season.

The Blues’ campaign can hit a new high with an upset triumph over the Cats. The clash is among the most eagerly anticipated between the pair in recent seasons.

Parsons, a 15-season full-back who is yet to play finals with Nirranda, said the Blues’ rise up the ladder had been “a long time coming”.

Parsons put the promising start — they have five wins, with their only loss in a thriller against Dennington in round one — down to multiple factors.

“One is that a few of the younger players are getting more age on them, they’re getting around that 22 to 25 mark. They’re starting to hit their straps, football-wise,” he said.

“And it’s some handy recruits we’ve picked up — a few from Terang Mortlake, one from Warrnambool. 

“It’s really a combination of things.” 

Those additions include former Bloods Danny Craven and Jason Lee, ex-Warrnambool and South Rovers utility John Paulin and ruckman Ash Cole, last at South Colac.

“Me and (runner) Simon Craven did a lot of work to get the Terang guys down here,” Parsons said.

“They’ve been fantastic for the club and great to pick up. Me and Pete McDowall, we’ve spent a long time waiting for this.

“We’ve played with the club nearly all our lives, played a lot of footy and haven’t got much reward for it.”

Second-year coach Aidan Cole also came in for praise, as did his predecessor Brad Wiggins.

“The ball was in motion before Coley came with Brad Wiggins. Wiggo was fantastic for the development of the young players who have come on,” Parsons said.

“But Coley has been great. You’ve got to do the right things to keep everything in motion. He’s been fantastic with a lot of rebound footy off the half-back line.

“The thing about Coley is he gives you a lot of run. He’ll carry it 10 metres and his penetrating kick, he can smack it deep into the forward line.”

But taking on Allansford represents Nirranda’s greatest challenge to date. Josh Parkinson’s side is 6-0, with wins against Kolora-Noorat and Old Collegians to its name.

Intriguingly, the contest offers a contrast in midfields. The Cats have a tall onball unit, led by Nick Johnstone, Leatham Robe, Sam Holloway and Xavier Mills.

The Blues’ ball-winners are comparatively small — Dylan Lees, Jason Lee, Adam Atkinson, Aaron Smith, Michael Foster and Jack Spokes. “They are (small) but pretty much every one of them will stick their head over the footy. They don’t mind getting in there and having a red-hot crack,” Parsons said. The clash against Allansford precedes the break for interleague in a fortnight. Nirranda meets Old Collegians in round eight, arguably a season-defining clash.

“At the start of the year we thought if we went into the break five and two we’d be happy with that. It looks like it’s going to happen,” Parsons said.

“We might even go in six and one. If that was the case, that’d be awesome for our club ... but we’re under no illusions we need to beat the Collegians and the Koloras.”

afawkes@fairfaxmedia.com.au