The Seagulls found themselves in a hole in the elimination final after a bold start from South Warrnambool on Sunday.

But Imbi and playing coach Dan Nicholson carried a belief the Seagulls could turn the game in their favour.

They did just that, swinging a 37-point deficit midway through the second term into a memorable 10.11 (71) to 7.16 (58) victory.

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Port Fairy kept South Warrnambool goalless after half-time but was still 21 points down at the final break.

Wet and muddy conditions meant it would be a grind and a territory battle.

The Seagulls tied the scores at the 20-minute mark and were in front soon after courtesy of a smart ruck tap which went through for a rushed behind.

Nicholson kicked a goal to put them seven points up at the 29-minute mark which punctured the Roosters' hopes.

But he downplayed individual efforts in the rooms post-game, instead telling his players "we won't do best players today, a gutsy win like that takes 21 players".

"It was a gutsy win from the boys, to have the character to hang in there and then score against the breeze like we did really set us up for that last quarter coming home," Nicholson said.

"The whole day it was just 'keep our composure'.

"We know we can score quickly when we get on a roll and as soon as that rain came at half-time we knew the bigger bodies would probably stack up if we could keep that pressure on for long enough."

South Warrnambool had to try and win the game, rather than defend its buffer, when Port Fairy levelled the scores.

It gave the Seagulls a sniff.

"They had to be aggressive and had to swing their plus-one back forward to try and score, so that opened up our forward line a little bit," Nicholson said.

"We were able to hit the scoreboard a little bit after that a lot easier."

South Warrnambool coach Mat Battistello said the Roosters' final term was hard to take.

"We kicked eight points in the third quarter so we didn't take our opportunities there, so I'd say we clearly outplayed them for three quarters and they were good enough to find a way to win in the end," he said.

But the first-year Roosters leader said overall there were positives to take into pre-season.

"We think Port's list, especially their top-end talent, is as good as there is going around in country football and the fact we outplayed them for three quarters was extremely positive for us," he said.

"But we don't make any excuses for our kids, once they step in and are playing seniors, we expect them to play for two hours and unfortunately there was a couple of moments we could've taken and a couple of incidents I think maybe were missed which could've certainly helped us win the game.

"But that is the rub of the green you get sometimes."

The Roosters' NAB League contingent - Fraser Marris, Flynn Atchison, Liam Herbert and Marcus Herbert - all showed glimpses.

Marris in particular was effective, highlighting his willingness for the contest in the midfield and hitting the scoreboard with two goals.

Atchison ended the game with concussion.

Port Fairy's Dylan Herbertson rolled his ankle and Kurt Smith finished with a tight calf.

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