The Bloods shocked third-placed South Warrnambool on Saturday to make it three single-digit victories over top-five sides this season.

The 13.5 (83) to 11.11 (77) boilover followed their four-point round one win over North Warrnambool Eagles and eight-point victory over premiership fancy Port Fairy in round four.

They sit two games outside the top-five, having dropped matches to bottom-placed Hamilton Kangaroos and ninth-ranked Portland.

Terang Mortlake coach Michael Sargeant said the Bloods’ narrow wins over quality opponents bode well for the rebuilding side’s future.

“We haven’t blown them out of the water, they’ve been tough games so for a young group to do that, and it’s not a once off it’s three times now, is a tick for them and a tick for the club too,” he said.

Sargeant said the Bloods, who benefitted from a five-goal Joe Arundall haul, backed themselves against the Roosters in a game which ebbed and flowed in momentum.

“In the last quarter, they were up by a couple of goals but we didn’t give up,” he said.

“The last 10 minutes were a good learning curve.

“There were a lot of things we could have done better but a few blokes stepped up.

“Jake Tanner, who is only 18 and playing ruck, took telling marks in the back line.”

Sargeant said he was pleased with the Bloods’ efforts against the Magpies and Roosters in the past two rounds, having learned lessons from heavy early-season defeats.

“We set ourselves a little bit for it, especially based on the first round of games,” he said.

“We were disappointed with the Camperdown and South Warrnambool games so we wanted to get a big improvement.

“We weren’t worried about the results but wanted improvement and we’ve done that.”

The Bloods play Port Fairy, which is coming off a heavy defeat, next weekend.