But according to new Dennington coach Mick Phillips the bottom of the ladder Dogs are doing just that.

He said it will need to continue when the Dogs host East Warrnambool on Saturday in the Warrnambool and District league.

"We've been winning the clearances most weeks, so if we can do that again we should be able to put a fair bit of pressure on their backs," he said.

"We're winning a lot of clearances but we're turning it over a lot.

"So it's really making sure those first couple of possessions are clean to help our forwards out.

"There's nothing worse than doing all the hard work and then seeing it rebound straight back over your head."

Phillips said his side would bring its "best forward mix" of the season to the Bombers clash.

That forward line includes the returning John Vincent and Luke Moutray who will join small forward Jackson Cruickshank.

Phillips said Moutray is a premiership player that brings height and experience while Vincent adds pace and versatility.

Phillips who started the season down back has also thrown himself forward and kicked a goal last week.

The addition of attacking players could answer the Dogs scoring woes but what about the 796 points conceded at an average of 159 points a match?

"It's a hard one," Phillips said.

"Of those we've conceded, we've probably played the three top teams so hopefully that balances out in the next five or six weeks."

Skewing the figures, is the Dogs 223-point drubbing at the hands of flag fancy Kolora-Noorat in its season-opener.

Between Dennington's two grades (seniors and reserves) there was 19 players unavailable for that round three encounter due to it being brought forward to precede round one.

The Dogs have otherwise conceded big totals in three other matches - 118 points against South Rovers, 151 against Nirranda and 185 against Merrivale.

But the Dogs may be experiencing some short-term pain for some long-term gain.

Phillips said he had some experienced players in his back line but was placing responsibility on his youngsters.

"We are giving the big jobs to kids to help them learn," he said.

"We figure long-term it's better for them to learn off a Jason Rowan than not."

Tom Noonan, who returns this week, has been taking the key forwards while Jack McCutcheon "normally gets the dangerous small forward".

The young backmen are both 18-years-old.

Dennington assistant coach Luke Pearson told The Standard early this season that fitness would be a focus so the Dogs could put in four quarter efforts.

Phillips said he had been working to address that.

"On Tuesday nights after training finishes there's a bit of running at the end of it," he said.

"There's a handful of them (players) doing extras on Wednesday as well."

The running includes 200 metre sprints, hill sprints and laps of the oval.

The Dogs fell to the Timboon Demons by 65 points last week and were blown away in final quarter.

Phillips said injuries didn't help their cause as Tyson Umbers "split the webbing really bad between his two middle fingers" and star recruit Ben Thornton suffered from cramping in the fourth quarter.

Phillips said he was impressed by Thornton who has played two matches after making the switch from Hampden league club South Warrnambool during the off-season.

"Probably to his own detriment, he's pushed himself a little bit too hard and that resulted in the cramping," he said.

"He's been really good, he's a tough-nut, he's solid and tackles really well."

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