The Gators went into the match high on confidence after winning their first two fixtures, but it was Werribee that began better and dominated the first two quarters.

Werribee's Nathan Marsh was the star for his side and his 18 unanswered points at the end of the second quarter meant the Gators played catch-up for the match.

The Gators did attempt to stage a fightback in the third quarter and managed to come within eight points of the opposition, but the side fell apart in the fourth as Werribee ran away with a 20-point win.

Gators' coach Darren Davey was extremely disappointed with his team's lacklustre approach.

"My players didn't come ready to play.

"In the end it was a good learning curve for our defence," Davey said.

"James Guljas was our best player on the day with 29 points and 19 rebounds and he will be the premier big man in the competition this year.

"We couldn't get near David Marsh. He killed us."

Next up, the Gators face newly promoted Keysborough and Davey expects his side to record a comfortable win.

"They are a bit of an unknown for us, but I see our next two fixtures as winnable," he said.

"If we win both we'll be back near the top of the ladder."

The Gators' youth team was also in action against Werribee on Thursday. It lost, 64-55.

Nathan Watshott was the highest scorer for the Gators with 14points, followed by Brad Gwinto, who scored 12.

"We didn't play well and they were a bit too difficult for us." said Gators' youth team coach Lloyd Klaman. "All credit to them, though. They were the best I've seen them in recent years."