Nirranda coach Brayden Harkness says execution, polish key to getting four points

The Blues suffered their first loss since the 2019 Warrnambool and District league grand final last week, with Panmure running out 20-point winners. Despite the rare loss, Harkness said it wasn't "all doom and gloom".

"I thought we played pretty well in patches," he said. "And for large parts of the game we had the majority of play and territory.

"But we know if we want to match it with the best sides, we've got to do it with a bit more polish and for longer."

Nirranda has made five changes ahead of its round 10 match against Dennington, including blooding a junior talent.

Cody Wagstaff (ankle) and Ash Rosolin (back) return after missing a month of football with injury, as does Peter McDowall.

Matthew Horsnell's form in reserves will be rewarded, with Harkness set to task the midfielder with a key role onball. Under 18 player Oliver Delaney will also make his senior debut for the club.

Coming out is Reagan Nutting (shoulder), Tyler Coates (ankle), Bronte McCann (illness), Luke Weel (unavailable) and Jason Lee (unavailable).

Harkness said his group was hungry to return to the winners' list, with the Panmure loss sparking some reflection.

"It has been quite a while for a few of us," he said of a loss. "Sometimes you can scrape over the line and win games and the fact you got the four points can be a band-aid over the cracks. It's given us a good opportunity to reset and address key areas that let us down.

"We had some good conversations as a group around that and we hope to come out and amend some of those things against Dennington and push on, we've got Power the week after.

"That's the best thing about footy, the next week you've got another game and challenge on your hands."

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