That was evident in Warrnambool’s thrilling two-point win against South Warrnambool at Reid Oval on Saturday.

The Blues trailed for a majority of the final term before snatching the lead in the dying minutes to hold onto a 8.6 (54) to 6.16 (52) victory.

Coach Matt O’Brien said he backed his players to take the game on and they in turn backed themselves.

"Well certainly when it got down to the last quarter we weren't going to win it playing conservatively,” he said.

"To their credit they were courageous enough to do some attacking moves.

“And it did move the ball down the ground quicker, which opened it up and we were able to score.

"If we had have just stuck around the boundaries we probably wouldn't have caught them.”

O’Brien said he knew the Blues were always going to be up for a tough battle coming into the match.

The first-year mentor spoke to his players after the game about South Warrnambool having plenty to play for, including a shot at taking third spot.

But he said throughout the day his players were only paying attention to their own situation.

"The focus for us today was to play our game and just be more disciplined in what we are trying to do and play our systems,” O’Brien said.

"And we did and we stuck at it and it was good enough for today.

"But they missed some shots in the third quarter which could have really made a big difference.

"They could have been a few goals up, which could have been really tricky into that wind. It certainly didn't help them.”

South Warrnambool didn’t need O’Brien or anyone to point out where it lost the game.

Coach Matt Buck, who was visibly disappointed and frustrated after the loss, said it was obvious what cost his side the win.

“I think we didn’t kick straight enough,” he said.

“We obviously kicked a lot of points and poor kicking is poor football, so I think it came down to that.

"I think we had a lot of inside 50s for the day and didn’t capitalise on the opportunity.

“You can have days like that, I think. We have had a pretty good last month at set-shot goal kicking, but just didn't come together today."

Noah Turland made his debut for the Blues and O’Brien said he was happy with the 16-year-old’s contribution.

While Buck was equally as impressed with the performance of Australian under-19 basketballer Jay Rantall.

It was also a special occasion for the Fleming brothers – Ben and Will who played their first senior game together for Warrnambool.

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