INACCURATE kicking from the Hamilton Kangaroos could’ve quite possibly cost them a spot in the finals as they went down by just one point to Warrnambool at Reid Oval in round 11 of the Hampden Football Netball League (HFNL) senior football.

It was an important game in the grand scheme of the season for both teams who were just separated by percentage with an equal season record of 5-5 prior to the clash.

The playing group was “shattered” after the loss knowing how important the game was and how close they came to running over the top.

From the beginning of the game, the Roos put up an even contest in the middle of the ground, however kicking just 1.5 in the first term let them down and gave the Blues an early nine-point lead at the first break.

It was a tight tussle in the second quarter as both midfields battled hard to win the ball and get it moving in their direction, but it was Warrnambool who took its chances and managed to extend the lead to 14 points at the main break.

Having kicked 2.8 for the first half, the players went into the third quarter knowing they needed to turn it around if they were to win and cement themselves in the top five.

The premiership quarter has been a standout for the blue and white through most of this season and this was no different as they controlled the play and managed to capitalise on inside 50’s through Hamish Cook and Darcy Russell.

The defensive line was rock solid and worked well together to rebound any chances that the Blues managed to create.

Hamilton had launched a fightback and were determined to not let such an important game slip as they pushed hard and outscored Warrnambool to give themselves a chance going into the last quarter.

The scoreboard read Hamilton 7.11 (53) to Warrnambool 9.7 (61), with the margin at only just over a kick, the blue and white surged and belief lifted as they put the home side under pressure across the whole ground.

Captain, Brady Hicks was an inspirational leader for the young side as he set the example and continued to win midfield battles and lock the ball in the forward 50.

Warrnambool were kept to just 1.0 in the final quarter while Hamilton kicked 1.7 which ultimately cost them the four points and a spot inside the top five.

The Blues held on with all they had to keep their noses in front when the final siren sounded winning a thriller at Reid Oval, 10.7 (67) to 8.18 (66).

Hamilton Kangaroos’ coach, Hamish Waldron said the result was tough for the entire playing group to process but would make them stronger going forward.

“It was the most shattered I’ve seen them in a long time, you could see the loss really did hurt, we kicked 1.7 in the last quarter, so the opportunities were there,” he told The Spectator.

“It would’ve been nice to get into that fifth spot and put the pressure on Warrnambool … the message to the boys was that Portland is the next winnable game for us, we need to regroup and focus on Portland after the bye.”

Waldron put the loss down to the inaccurate goal kicking and conceding too many turnovers which saw the Blues hurt them at the other end.

The blue and white had 26 scoring shots for the game while Warrnambool only managed 17 and managed to control the game despite not getting over the line.

“Turnovers cost us more than anything, we didn’t start the best or kick straight early in the game, we had a lot of play and controlled the game, the result was more that we didn’t kick straight,” Waldron said.

“(A positive was) the way we chipped the footy around and slowly moved it down the ground, we didn’t blaze away and bomb long, we got it up there and stayed composed with the football … (but we will be working on) a bit of goalkicking,” he laughed.

Brady Hicks was named Hamilton’s best player with Mick McMeel, Angus Noske, Cam Pither, Deacon White and Hamish Cook all named in the best.

Cook finished with two majors, as did Darcy Russell and Charles Murrie while Cameron Whyte and Ben Starkie kicked one each.

In the dying stages, the visitors had repeat entries as Waldron described the final few minutes of the game as “nerve racking” and added that there were a couple injuries to come out of the game.

“There was Cameron Whyte who got two balls kicked into him, the umpire paid two free kicks for pushing, Andrew Pepper ran into an open goal from about 30 out and just missed, then Brady Hicks had a snap in the last fifteen seconds and went the wrong side of the post,” he said.

“Duncan Rentsch has hurt his knee pretty badly, it’s the same knee he has done before so that doesn’t look good, he will have to have an MRI, Zach Burgess has hurt his shoulder which we aren’t too sure of how bad that is at the moment,” Waldron said.

The senior team will reset and regroup over the bye and get ready to travel and take on Portland with a big focus on controlling the play and bringing back four points.

The Reserves side had a massive win on the day as Hugh Douglas dominated in the forward line kicking a bag of six goals while Tim Cogger kicked three of his own and was named as Hamilton’s best player.

The team ran away with the win thanks to some great accuracy and pressure inside the forward 50, the final margin was a very comfortable 57 points, 17.7 (109) to Warrnambool 8.4 (52).

The Under-18.5s recorded a massive 107-point win over the Blues thanks to four goal hauls from Will Hunter, Charlie Alexander and Will Povey, the only other two goalkickers were Jack Austin and Lachie Urquhart who snagged two each.

Ethan Knight was a bull in the midfield picking up plenty of the football and clearing the ball from the engine room time and time again, he was named Hamilton Kangaroos’ best player.