The reigning Warrnambool and District league A grade premier has already had to fall back on a plan B in the finals, bringing coach Sue Fleming and veteran Lani Keane onto the court when things were going pear-shaped early against Kolora-Noorat last Saturday.

The move paid off: the Dogs fought back from a nine-goal deficit to win in an extra-time thriller, booking their spot in Saturday’s second semi-final against 2017 minor premier Nirranda.

“For us, it was very hard to prepare (for the first final) – we had injuries and illness,” Fleming said. “We had to bring Lani and myself out of A reserve and be back-up players, but never thought we’d use that back-up.”

It was a scenario the Dogs had been preparing for, however, and Fleming said finals were when the groundwork put in place over the home-and-away season pays off.

Dennington has tested and honed its versatility over the year, and it is a quality Fleming said is key to finals success.

“I think people don’t put enough emphasis on versatility,” she said. “It can be a bit unsettling during the season, but this is when you need it.”

Dennington and Nirranda have met just once this season, with the Blues scraping through with a two-goal victory.

Fleming said her charges would quickly put their qualifying final behind them, but needed to address their slow starts from the past two games.