Warrack Eagles 75 d Ararat 74
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WARRACK Eagles have jumped into second spot on the ladder after a one-point thriller against Ararat at Alexandra Oval on Saturday.
The Eagles led by 17 points at the main change before finding themselves trailing by two goals midway through the final quarter.
But Tim Inkster’s men got over the line for the fifth time this season, claiming a 11.9 (75) to 11.8 (74) victory.
Jae McGrath kicked five goals for the visitors, while Ben Harrison starred in defence.
Inkster labelled it a lucky win.
“It certainly wasn’t a perfect game,” he said.
“In terms of the context of the season, I’m happy with the four points.
“But the way we got there, there’s still so much we can work on.”
Inkster said makeshift ruckman Brandon Walsh competed well in the absence of James Kirby and Scott Adams, while Ben Spicer got through his first game of the season unscathed.
“We didn’t have a heap of depth left and the blokes who came in did a great job for us,” he said.
“The four points keep us up in that top three, which is where we need to be.”
For Ararat, a perfect 4-0 start to the season has turned into 4-2 after giving up final quarter leads in back-to-back matches.
Rats coach David Hosking said his side worked its way back into the game after half-time and had its chances to win.
“They comprehensively outplayed us in the first half and we were lucky to be in it half-time,” he said.
“We led by a bit over two goals about 10 minutes into the last quarter and didn’t close it out as well as we could have.”
The home team was not helped by injuries to pivotal players Jake Williamson, hamstring, and Dan Mendes, head knock, inside the first quarter and a half.
But Hosking refused to use the injuries as an excuse.
“We were down to one man on the bench 10 minutes into the second quarter and we were well and truly undermanned, but we still should’ve done better than what we did,” he said.
Midfielder Aaron Searle, half-back Peter Thompson and forward Beau Cosson, four goals, were among the Rats’ best.