Only this time it was the Roos who didn't have control of the outcome.

Kangaroo Flat led Castlemaine by two points when seconds before the final siren, the Magpies' Thomas Godsell was awarded a free-kick.

Godsell unloaded a set-shot from outside 50 after the siren had sounded, but his kick fell short, leaving the Roos to celebrate a 8.14 (62) to 8.12 (60) win that moved them back into the top five.

Back on the Queen's Birthday Monday, Kangaroo Flat defeated Gisborne by one point when Roos' forward Cameron Rinaldi wobbled a point after the siren.

Saturday's contest was tight all game, with the biggest margin that separated the two sides at any of the breaks the 12 points Kangaroo Flat led by at three quarter-time.

"We won't shy away from the fact that we're in a flat patch and not playing anywhere near our best footy. With a young group, there are a couple of guys who are struggling a bit, and even our senior leaders are struggling as well," Roos coach Jason Stevens said.

"We had a really big start to the season and now it's into that tough middle part of the year when it's wet and cold and the conditions are muddy, so we need to find a way to fire ourselves up and get past this.

"We're obviously happy to get the win in tough conditions like that against a Castlemaine side we knew was going to be competitive.

"It was a real scrap of a game and I think it was played on Castlemaine's terms for most of the day. We struggled to adapt to the wet conditions with our attacking game, but we'll take the four points."

Co-captain Luke Lougoon across the wing and off half-back, ruckman Nick Lang, defenders Jarryd Wiegard and Linc Frost and wingman Ash Benbow were the best players for the Roos, who improved to 6-5 with the victory.

Key forwards Braydan Knox in his return from an ankle injury and Cameron Rinaldi both kicked two goals for the Roos.

Magpies coach Shane Robertson was disappointed his players didn't receive the reward of a third win of the season for their effort.

"It was one of those games that could have gone either way. Unfortunately, we had a bit of a lapse in the third quarter (outscored 3.5 to 1.4), but for the rest of the game the boys competed really well," Robertson said.

"It was good to see the playing group really hurt by the loss. They've been through this for the past five years where there has been acceptable losses, but today they really hurt, so there is a lot of feeling there in progressing going forward.

"I was really pleased with the effort because it was a hell of a lot better than we produced in the first half of the year."

Ruckman Godsell was named the best for the Magpies, along with Rhys Jenkins and Zach Hansford as part of the on-ball brigade, the consistent Jarryd Graham, and Brian Mustafa, who tagged the Roos' James Saville.

In what was a game where both sides kicked only eight goals, the Magpies' Tallan Wright was the best forward on the ground, kicking four.

Saturday was the fourth game at Beck Legal Oval this season decided by a kick or less.

• Beck Legal Oval thrillers:

Round 3: Golden Square d Kangaroo Flat by 6 points.

Round 8: Kyneton d Kangaroo Flat by 3 points.

Rd 9: Kangaroo Flat d Gisborne by 1 point.

Rd 11: Kangaroo Flat d Castlemaine by 2 points.