Kolora-Noorat asserts itself as the team to beat with victory over Nirranda

The second-placed Blues had won nine in a row before going down to the Power 14.8 (92) to 4.7 (31) at Nirranda Recreation Reserve.

"We just saw the top side in the comp and that's why they are the top side," Threlfall said.

"They were fantastic today.

"They beat us in all aspects of the game.

"That's our worst performance for a couple of years so I'm sure we won't perform like that again, I wouldn't think."

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Threlfall, who was impressed with his team's second quarter, can see the areas of improvement for his Blues.

"Just ball movement and composure with the footy, they're the main things," he said.

"We've just got to get a bit smarter with our ball-use and maybe some of our outside footy has got to improve a bit."

Blue Daniel Craven, who suffered concussion in the first half, did not return to the game.

"We'll have to get a medical clearance now for next week, he'll probably have to have a week off I'd say," Threlfall said.

Power playing coach Ben Walsh said his team was pleased with the win but was not getting ahead of itself.

He said Nirranda was the sort of challenge his team was after.

"You want to see where you're at against the benchmark for the last couple of years," he said.

"So to put all those things to the test under real pressure, it gives us confidence."

Kolora-Noorat, which has the bye next week, has been working on its contested footy and it showed on Saturday.

The Power met arguably the toughest and biggest-bodied team in the league and was able to match it.

"We've got a lot of young guys who have been really good junior players so for them to experience a game like that and stand up, it gives them a lot of confidence," Walsh said.

"We think one of our strengths is our ball-movement and the way we run but we know that when the big games come around that's not the stuff that necessary wins games, it's that really hard stuff.

"So we've been working really hard on it and it was good to stand up today under that pressure."

The Power mentor was thrilled with experienced-heads Matt Harkin and Sean Bourke who returned to the team this week.

"They're pretty hard, pretty experienced and really disciplined and selfless," he said.

"We knew that was the type of game it was going to be.

"We're pretty young so to have a few older guys when the game is at its hottest, we thought was really beneficial."

Nirranda faces third-ranked Merrivale this Saturday in the match of the round.

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