His Tigers had shown their true selves for just one quarter against Dennington yet walked off the ground only eight points in arrears, 9.9 (63) to 8.7 (55).

At their worst, they could only managed two goals in three quarters. At their best, they slammed on six in half-an-hour.

“It was a good way to end the game, wasn’t it. It would’ve been easy to roll over and lose by eight or nine goals but we fought really hard and nearly pinched it in the end,” Dwyer said.

“But having said that, there is a lot to work on from those first three quarters.

“We were second to the footy, we turned the ball over a lot and going forward was a real battle. Credit to them, their pressure was really up.”

Ruckman Manny Sandow was the Tigers’ leading contributor, an honour also bestowed on his opponent Justin Wallace. Alister Porter was prolific and clean in testing conditions while teenager Alex Pulling again proved why he has become a regular fixture in the seniors.

But the absence of century goalkicker Jet Dowie and concussion to Rhys Raymond were telling. Joe Woonton worked tirelessly but too often had to beat multiple opponents.

“We would’ve liked to win but we’ve learnt from it. It’s a positive day for us too,” Dwyer said.