Creative small forward shines in nail-biting Hampden league night match

Koroit premiership player Jyron Neave starred for the Saints in their 9.12 (66) to 8.11 (59) victory against Warrnambool at Reid Oval on Friday, April 5, slotting four classy goals.

Neave, 24, sealed the result with a kick off the ground with five minutes to play in the final term.

"I just wanted the siren to go after that," he told The Standard.

"I felt pretty good tonight. I struggled a bit last week (against South Warrnambool on Good Friday) so I was pretty happy with my performance and all the team as well."

Neave, now in his third year at the club after crossing from Merrivale, also pushed up the ground to be a threat.

"We've got a good mid-rotation and forward swap so it works out well," he said.

"I love how we're all close and we're all good mates and everyone wants to win and they all have a crack."

Two injuries soared Koroit's win with first-gamer Dylan Shircore concussed in the first term and midfielder Dylan McCutcheon suffering a suspected leg fracture in the third quarter.

"Dyl Shircore got knocked out in his first contest. It was a hard, hard hit. It just looked like a hard contest to me," Saints coach Chris McLaren said.

"Dyl McCutcheon came limping off. He said his foot got stuck and someone just fell through his leg."

Warrnambool had an eight-point lead at quarter-time and was five points up at the main break.

Koroit, which looked at its most dangerous when running in waves, managed to edge six points clear at the final change.

Scores were tied late in the final term before a bit of Neave magic sealed the Saints' win.

"I am just really proud of the group. It had a bit of a similar feel to last week where at times we were playing well but couldn't score and at times we felt like we were hanging on a bit," McLaren said.

McLaren, who praised skipper Liam Hoy and Jack Block for their performances in the midfield as well as teenager duo Tate Waterson and Jett Grayland, said the Blues were a "solid and powerful" line-up with strong kicking skills.

"I thought our tackling and pressure on the ball carrier was really, really strong," he said.

"If we have an open shoot-out with a team, we don't have the firepower so we have got to make it a little bit messy at times but when we get some free footy we can be dangerous."

Warrnambool coach Dan O'Keefe lamented a lost opportunity.

"I felt like we didn't play at our best but I felt like we played good enough to potentially win it," he said.

"It was a tight game and Koroit had some really good passages of play and some good players stood up late in the game.

"But it is a tough one to swallow because I felt like in the first half we played really good footy but just didn't consolidate on the scoreboard."

The Blues unveiled six new faces with Anthony McCarthy named in their best.

"He is a really hardened defender but then has this beautiful attacking style to his game as well and is really fleet-footed too," he said.

Two younger new faces - Riley Holloway and Fletcher Timms - also earned their coach's respect while boom recruit Ben Cunnington, who split his time in the middle and forward, "looked really dangerous in the last quarter".

One seniors regular to perform well was Jackson Bell. He has missed some training due to a new job and spent a fair chunk of time forward, standing out with his skills and booming kick.

VFL-listed Nick Hooker injured his ankle in the opening term.