But that was the case for Port Fairy's 150-game player Isaac Martin in Saturday's 12.14 (86) to 9.9 (63) win over Cobden.

Martin rolled his ankle before half-time and played no further part in the milestone match, which has earned him a life membership at Gardens Oval.

Assistant coach Winis Imbi said the Seagulls would monitor the midfielder's injury through the week.

"He just rolled it and it puffed up to the size of an egg, no pun intended as that is his nickname, so he is a bit sore but I think he will be OK," he said

"Whether he plays or he misses next week we will play him when he is ready."

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On a positive note for the Seagulls, the win saw them move eight points clear of South Warrnambool, which lost to Koroit, in fourth.

Cobden coach Adam Courtney said his side had shown big improvement since the previous time it played Port Fairy.

"I was extremely proud of the players as they put in a big effort with their tacking pressure, laying heaps of tackles, which was something we emphasised during the week," he said.

"We were staying attached to their players outside the contest and when we spread, we did it well.

"In the end their class got on top of us and their better players started to play well but it was over a 100 point turn-around so we are definitely improving."

Courtney has also been pleased by the improvement of young ruckman Toby Hawkins, who was named as the Bombers' best player on Saturday.

"This is his fourth season and he has always been second in line to Levi Dare and when Levi left Toby took the number one ruck," he said.

"We believe he can hold that mantle for the next eight to 10 years as he has got so much upside.

"The ruck division is strongest position in the league and he is competing and learning every week and we can't be happier with his progress."

The first-year Bombers mentor compared the 23-year-old to Warrnambool's Dan Weymouth.

"He rucked against him the first time we played Warrnambool and Weymouth taught him where to run and Toby learnt from that and made improvements the next time we played them," he said.

"Dan is a smart ruck and an exceptional player with a great record and Toby can be like that if he keeps committing to his game."

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