SOUTH Warrnambool is hoping its first win in 20 months to the day can be a launching pad for more success in 2017.
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The Roosters rose to the challenge against Terang Mortlake in a gritty, contested match at Friendly Societies’ Park to prevail 44-42.
The returning Eliza Dwyer was impressive in her second game back at her home club, providing a strong target under the ring and working well with fellow goaler Liz Byrne.
The pair finished with 39 and five goals respectively, complementing each other well and earning the praise of coach Mandy Van Rooy.
“She (Dwyer) is amazing, isn’t she? She puts a lot of pressure on herself, but she did really well,” Van Rooy said.
“She’s a real focal point for us, but also Liz Byrne comes in there and she’s really steadying and controlled.
“I think we can be quite dangerous; we’ve got two really nice goalies.
“They have a nice understanding, and that’s not even quite their second game together.”
The Bloods got the jump on the home team, working out to a five-goal lead by quarter-time and were up by six in the second term before centre breaks saw the Roosters drop in five goals in a row.
They soon levelled the score and by half-time had edged out to a two-goal lead.
It was practically goal-for-goal from midway through the second term as Terang Mortlake recovered after the onslaught.
The Bloods held a two-goal advantage heading into the last, but a final surge saw the Roosters pull in front to win by two.
“We had discussed (how) the last two weeks our starts have been pretty poor, so again we didn’t get out to the best start, so that’s something we’ll have to address,” Van Rooy said.
“But that we were able to come back from that and keep going was good.
“It was pretty nerve-wracking in the end, but we’ve got a young side and very new side, so it’s good that in times when we’re a little bit unsure of each other still we can have that trust in each other.”
Bloods coach Kerrie Crawley said while there was good fight shown by her charges to respond to the Roosters’ surge, the close result could prove costly for a team still chasing its first win.
“These are the games that hurt you when you lose games like come finals, if you’re there. I thought we should’ve won today,” she said. “(But the players) never stopped, and we’ve been struggling with our first quarters, and our first quarter was fantastic.”