Warrnambool escapes clutches of defeat to claim 12th win of the year

The Blues' fitness passed a finals-like test with a come-from-behind 12.10 (82) to 11.12 (78) victory over fellow top-five team Port Fairy.

The Seagulls led for most of the encounter - six at the first break, seven at half-time and a solitary point at the final change - before O'Brien's side kicked into gear to steal the win in the final term.

O'Brien said his side, which lost midfielder Ben Fleming after half-time with a knee injury, would benefit from the hit-out but it needed to get better to avoid falling behind in games.

"It's good to have three really hard games in row which will hold us in good stead," he said.

"Still got a lot of things to improve on like consistency with our ball movement, our defensive skills when we haven't got it and just tightening that up."

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The second-year Blues mentor said he was pleased his side had an even spread of contributors with Matt Colbert, who was named best on ground, and Austin Steere leading the way.

"Matty Colbert was terrific in the last half of game with his marking and ability to read play and zone off from his player," O'Brien said.

"'Aussie' was one of the only players for the whole day who was able to carry the ball. He has got that burst of speed and he used it where most others were getting caught in traffic."

The Blues, who are locked on 48 points with Koroit, are in the hunt to finish second with matches against Hamilton Kangaroos, South Warrnambool and Portland to conclude the regular season.

Port Fairy assistant coach Winis Imbi said the Seagulls would need to move on quickly from the loss as they prepare to face ladder-leader North Warrnambool Eagles next weekend.

"There were some good things to take out of game but credit to Warrnambool as they took their opportunities and we didn't," he said. "Pleasing thing is we know what we need to do to get there.

"Now it's about our intellectual property and making sure the boys are really clear on what we are trying to do.

"We will look at tape and get the boys to talk and critically review each other and we will just continue to build."

Imbi said ball use would be a key part of the Seagulls' quest to topple the undefeated Eagles.

"Poor ball use really hurt us coming out of the back half and also connecting with our forwards," he said.

"We let ourselves down in that area and Warrnambool were able to capitalise.

"We weren't good in our defence for long enough either. We allowed too much easy transition, which is disappointing, as it is something we pride ourselves on and you can't do that to a quality team."

The fourth-placed Seagulls, who now drift eight points behind Warrnambool in third, face Koroit and Hamilton Kangaroos following next weekend's clash against North Warrnambool Eagles.

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