SOUTH Warrnambool coach Mat Buck hopes a teenage duo’s second-half display in their 40-point win over Cobden is a sign of things to come.
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Cooper Atchison and Ethan Harvey heeded half-time advice to help the Roosters produce a game-defining seven-goal to one third term on Saturday night.
“We weren’t hitting the crumbs at centre half-forward and Cooper and Ethan made big adjustments to the way they played and gave us representation at the feet,” Buck said.
“It was a big catalyst for the change. In the first half we were playing good footy but having trouble in our forward line.
“We had plenty of inside 50s but were not converting on the scoreboard.”
Buck said the midfield group of Manny Sandow, Josh Saunders, Liam Youl and Nick Thompson set the tone and also praised recruit Ben Dalton for his shutdown role on Cobden running machine Jesse Williamson.
“Ben sacrificed his game to make sure he held Jesse accountable,” he said.
Cobden coach Levi Dare, who is battling injury, rued the Bombers’ second-half lapse after they held a seven-point half-time lead.
He said poor discipline also cost them.
“Undisciplined acts and a 50-metre penalty resulted in a goal,” Dare said.
“Sometimes it takes one thing to turn the game. That goal got them up and about.
“That is on us. It’s a bad mistake and we let them run away in the third quarter.”
Dare said the Bombers controlled the first half but failed to add scoreboard pressure – a feature of their round one loss to Port Fairy too.