Cobden upsets South Warrnambool in Hampden league

The Bombers' 12.10 (82) to 7.7 (49) win - just their second in 14 Hampden league rounds - justified the faith first-year coach Adam Courtney had in his young, injury-hit side.

"The morale has never dropped. We understood it was going to be tough work and we'd have heavy losses but we've been an upbeat, young side learning a new game plan," he said.

"We had to strip it back. A lot of our players are now healthy and we have competition for spots and that's a good place to be in."

The defeat dealt a blow to the Roosters' finals chances.

They are now fifth, equal on points with Hamilton Kangaroos, with four home and away rounds remaining.

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South Warrnambool coach Mat Battistello conceded the Roosters would have to make changes to arrest their form.

"We got completely outplayed, it's as simple as that," he said.

"Around the footy and in the contests they were far better than us and it's something that has been happening for two, three or four weeks.

"It's something we need to address, whether it's personnel or tweaking training."

Battistello said while losses were a part of football, how a team losses was important.

"After yesterday there will certainly be changes because we can't accept a loss like that," he said.

The vibe was a stark contrast for Courtney who said he was "definitely a happy coach" after the Bombers led at every change.

"We played a really good four-quarter game," he said.

"Our tackling was fantastic, our defence unbelievable and we capitalised on our inside 50s which was the key."

Courtney was thrilled with three of the Bombers' emerging players - Sam Giblett, Jack McGlade and Tomas Lindquist.

He said Giblett was a "confidence player".

"Once he gets his hands on the footy, he grows a lot," he said.

"He's only three weeks back from injury and we've been concentrating on him staying in the game."

Lindquist kicked two goals, pleasing Courtney with his "attack on the footy".

"His contest work was outstanding, he hit the ball a lot harder today," he said.

McGlade's efforts in defence also caught his attention.

"He won all his one-on-ones and his two-on-one contests he drew and his cleanliness around the ball was fantastic," Courtney said.

Both sides had injury concerns.

Cobden lost Jake Evans, who was taken to hospital for precaution with concussion.

South Warrnambool lost Charlie Lee, who had earned a senior recall, pre-game. He received MRI results for a torn meniscus and is expected to miss four to six weeks.

Heath Brennan (neck) was also a late out. Teenagers Emmanuel Ajang and Jed Henderson were their replacements.

Ben Annett copped a knock to his knee.

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