A 4-3 loss wouldn’t usually be the way a team would want to start their season, but in spite of this all the emphasis is on the positives for Portland, who went down in such circumstances to Corangamite in the South West Victorian Football Association on Sunday at Scotts Creek.

While they could’ve been moping after a last-minute winner from Lions stole Portland’s hopes of rescuing a point, coach Stephen Von Tunk said his group should be pleased with their performance.

“We played really well, especially considering eight of our starters in division one had played a game already in either division two or in the juniors… a couple guys even played in all three,” Von Tunk said.

“I thought we were the better side across the full game, and that we should’ve won.

“But it was a great performance, especially considering we only had four players who started in last year’s grand final in the line-up.”

The Panthers were down 2-0 early, before the resurgence up forward came courtesy of a hat-trick from youngster Noah McKinnon.

“He hit a half-volley from about 25 yards out that cannoned into the back of the net… it was an early contender for goal of the season for sure,” Von Tunk said.

“It was a great performance from him, and to go from being a solid division two player last season to now scoring a hat-trick in division one… it shows how much work he’s put in.”

He also commended the entire group on their ability to stick to their guns over the course of the 90 minutes despite trailing early.

“Apart from last season, a Panthers team in that position in years gone by would probably have lost that game 8-0… I was super proud of how we just didn’t give up,” Von Tunk said.

“It was just a case of a few mistakes letting us down… I was glad to see they didn’t hang their heads.”

Portland now gears up for their first home game of the season, in which they’ll host Warrnambool Rangers at Friendly Societies Reserve on Sunday at 3pm.

The Rangers are somewhat of an enigma at this early stage of the season, as they’ve brought their full club over to the SWVFA from the Ballarat competition and are now fielding both a division one and two side.

How this strengthens their division one contingent remains to be seen, but nonetheless the Panthers will be gearing up for a close tussle.

The Wolves defeated Warrnambool Rangers 3-1 in the opening round, while in the other match Stawell Pioneers defeated Port Fairy 4-2. Hamilton had the bye in round one.

Other divisions

Portland’s division two side had better success on the scoreboard in their match, winning 2-0 over Corangamite.

Anu Ganugapati scored both goals for the Panthers in what was described as a dominant performance across the whole game from the group.

The under-17s produced an even more emphatic victory, coming away with an 11-1 win which included five goals in the first five minutes.

Noah McKinnon was again in the thick of things scoring a hat-trick, with Sandy Trace and Ceejay Durbidge adding two goals apiece.

The under-14s played out a close 2-2 draw in the earlier match of the day.