South Warrnambool returnee Liam Youl knows there was very little separating his side and qualifying final opponent Port Fairy when the teams met in round 16.

That day, the Roosters went down by three points, but accrued two more scoring shots than the Seagulls.

When the teams face off again at Leura Oval on Saturday, Youl said South Warrnambool would go in confident.

“I think it (the early game) showed we can match it with a top team like Port Fairy,” he said.

“If we had’ve kicked straight, we might’ve got away with a win, but we’re definitely confident going into it.”

Youl believes how well the teams can win the contested ball could go a long way to determining the victor, but pointed out the Roosters would have to ensure their finishing off didn’t let them down.

The former North Ballarat Rooster is eager to be part of the Hampden club’s return to finals, following four years away from Friendly Societies’ Park.

He and fellow VFL footballer James Hussey were among a handy contingent of former South Warrnambool players to make their way back to the club this season.

Youl is expecting Hussey to shine on the finals stage.

“He’s a big-game player,” You said.

“And you know he gives everything into the contest.”

The 23-year-old said his transition back to his former club had been a smooth one, with strong friendship ties in the playing group helping its cohesion.

Saturday’s qualifying game marks the Roosters’ first appearance in the Hampden senior footy finals since they won the 2011 premiership.

The Friendly Societies’ Park club showed promising signs early last year, but faded late to miss out finals.

There were worrying signs midway through this season when the Roosters dropped four games in a row, but they bounced back in the final month of the home-and-away season to get their campaign back on track.

“We think our last month of footy has been really, really good,” Roosters coach Mathew Buck said.

“We play a great brand and we’re happy with our results heading into this one. We’re certainly excited to play our first finals in a long time.”

The Seagulls, meanwhile, will fly into the qualifying final on the back of a massive 120-point win over Portland.

Coach Brett Evans said while the Seagulls were happy with the big win, they were mindful that Saturday’s opponent would be a different prospect all together.

“We’ll be up against a lot stronger opposition this week, but at least we played to our brand of footy – that was more important to us than the scoreboard.”