Teacher and coach: How Port Fairy's Winis Imbi sees the Seagulls' journey

The bottom-placed Seagulls enter the Hampden league bye with a 1-8 win-loss record.

Each match has provided glimpses into how the coach wants his team to play.

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Sometimes the players produce what's required for an extended period. Often it's just a glimmer.

But Imbi knows, with hard work and commitment, it will click and the Seagulls will shed their "growing pains".

"It's like with teaching sometimes, especially in English, the subject I teach, I call it the 'ah ha moment'," the Heywood and Secondary College teacher said.

"Kids have been struggling for a while and you've been trying to help them and guide them and eventually they go 'oh, that's how you do a topic sentence, that's how you do an introduction'."

One glimmer was witnessed against Camperdown at Leura Oval on Saturday.

The next challenge is consistency.

"Camperdown had 29 uncontested marks in the second quarter and then in the third quarter the playing group brought it back down to nine," Imbi said.

"Then in the fourth quarter, even though Camperdown only kicked three goals, we still allowed 35 uncontested marks."

Imbi had time at Port Fairy as an assistant coach before taking on the top job.

He is still waiting to coach his first win after missing the Seagulls' victory against Cobden due to illness.

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The father-of-two remains upbeat, aware great things often require time and patience.

"It is a really challenging time but it's an enjoyable one as well," Imbi said.

"If you were to see if there were many smiles after the games, there's not.

"The boys are disappointed but then they re-group and train with intent and purpose on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

"I hope they get reward for effort but the reality is they have to earn it.

"No club here is going to want to make Port Fairy and our playing group feel great.

"But we are not going to be like this forever, if the boys keep believing in the way we want to play."

Imbi, a non-playing mentor, wants the Seagulls to play with confidence, dare and flair.

"There are growing pains and we talked at the end of the game about making mistakes we want to because we're trying to do things," he said.

"Sometimes the boys play safe or they take things to the extreme when there should be a lot more creativity in their game."

Port Fairy, which won its sole premiership in 1958, enters the Hampden league bye having played each of its nine rivals once.

Imbi, who thanked "the supporters who keep turning up because they're giving a lot of positivity to our group", said the Seagulls would work hard during the break.

"We'll still train because we need to but also I think there is an appetite for the boys that they want to as well," he said.