Just one goal.

Portland’s woes at the attacking end of the ground reached farcical levels on Saturday, going down to the in-form North Warrnambool Eagles 17.12 (114) to 1.21 (27) at Bushfield.

Tigers coach Luke Crane said the wayward kicking got “a little bit comical” as his players repeatedly slipped up in front of goal, taking until time-on in the final quarter to register their first major.

“It wasn’t pretty,” he said.

“It was just a snowball effect. Everyone got jitters around goal.

“Luckily, Daniel Falcone slotted a goal late in the game.”

Crane said use of the ball in the forward half has been an issue his side in the early stages of the season, though not to the extent it was on Saturday.

“We’ve definitely got to look at it because it happens every week – it’s not just the shots on goal, it’s the forward entries themselves,” he said.

But, scoreboard removed, Crane was happy to see his side’s improved effort.

The Tigers took the challenge up to North Warrnambool Eagles early, but 10 straight behinds to the home side’s 1.2 saw them take just a two-point lead into the first break.

The Eagles took advantage of the wind in the second term, piling on six goals as the Tigers scraped together four behinds to see them trailing by 35 at half-time.

From there, the all-conquering Eagles flipped the switch, kicking four goals against the wind in the third and finishing with six goals to one in the last, pushing the final margin out to 87.

“At least we had a four-quarter effort,” Crane said.

“(Next week) if we bring the same intensity and the same want and the same endeavour, I’ll be pretty happy.”

Crane was forced to watch the match from the sidelines, not taking to the field after he failed to come up from concussion in time, but expects to be right to go when Portland tackles Terang Mortlake next weekend.

North Warrnambool Eagles co-coach Brendan Murfett said after a first half that was below the standards his side had set in the opening three weeks, he was happy to see the way they responded after the main break.

“I put it to the boys that we needed to go better in certain areas,” he said.

“We were happy with the way the boys were able to turn it around after half-time.”

Adam Wines (one goal) was the Eagles’ best, putting in a sterling effort up forward, while Jarryd Lewis kicked five goals and defender Luke Van Heugten was impressive in his first game against his former side.

Sam James was the only injury concern for the home side, sitting out the second half after copping a heavy knock to the head.