Terang Mortlake and Kolora-Noorat - which operate just six kilometres apart - have a unique relationship.

Kolora-Noorat coach Ben Walsh said he and Bloods mentor Ben Kenna had been in close contact over pre-season.

"I've had a good chat to him. There's probably people in the area who think we maybe don't or shouldn't get along but we're certainly not in that camp," Walsh said.

"We think we need to be working together."

Kolora-Noorat, which competes in the Warrnambool and District league, will play Hampden league club Terang Mortlake in a practice match next week.

"We played Warrnambool last year and they gave us a bit of a flogging," Walsh said.

"With it on a Wednesday we'll be missing a few of our travelling players so it'll be a good test.

"We've been doing a bit of match simulation and playing those sides that are at a higher level are a good way to get match practice.

"We have Merrivale first-up so we'll need to be ready."

Premiership players Jason Moloney, Joel Moloney and Mark Clissold are among the players who have spent time at both clubs over the course of their career.

Eight players have switched between the two this summer.

"Players have always bounced between the two," Walsh said.

"It's my view that you encourage players because what can happen is that they might come back one day.

"That happened with Jason and Joel. They were junior players and they came back to play a role in premierships."

Kenna said the transition between the clubs was often easy for players because of their geographical position.

"Often the players that do cross over know each other so it's not a big transition," he said.

"With either football or netball it's not as big a transition as it would be from Terang to Geelong or Warrnambool.

"We always encourage young fellas who might want to test themselves at the higher Hampden league level. That's probably the main sell you can have.

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"But Kolora-Noorat is a strong, well-run club and you can see why players are happy there."

Kenna said his club would use Wednesday's practice match against Kolora-Noorat to "iron out cobwebs".

"We'll give opportunities to some up-and-coming players in different positions and try out a few different things," he said.

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