FLAG favourite Wycheproof-Narraport was pushed to the brink by Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers in the North Central league on Saturday.
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The Demons scraped over the line 11.13 (79) to 11.7 (73) at Sea Lake after Tim Holobowski kicked the final goal of the match with a superb shot on the run from the boundary.
The Demons had been trailing by one point when Holobowski slotted what proved to be the match-winning goal 16 minutes into the final term.
The victory keeps the 8-1 Demons two games clear at the top of the ladder, while the Tigers’ gallant loss cost them their position in the top four as they dropped from third to fifth.
“We knew Sea Lake is a team that plays its ground, which is an absolute paddock, really well and they use every inch of it,” Demons coach Julian Bull said.
“We had a lot of the play all game, but missed a lot of opportunities, whereas Sea Lake was able to take its chances much better and definitely made us fight it right out.”
Ricky Allan and Conner Burge were best for the Demons, who had Andrew Mead-Harding slot four goals.
The Tigers were well served by Brad Collins (two goals) and star ruckman Ryan O’Sullivan. Jordan Doering bagged four goals.
• Goals were hard to come by in Donald’s 25-point win over Wedderburn.
Just 12 were kicked for the match in what was a game where the two sides combined to score 12.27 as the Royals won their fourth game in a row, 7.20 (62) to 5.7 (37), at Wedderburn.
The Royals’ inaccuracy included scoring 1.8 in the first quarter and 1.6 in the third.
Brody Haddow and Anthony Raso (two goals) led the better players for the Royals, who in all four of their wins on the trot have held their opposition to less than 10 goals.
Ben DeAraugo and Jeremy Salinger battled hard for the Redbacks, who didn’t kick a goal in either the first or last quarter in their fifth defeat in a row in which they have kicked a combined 29.57.
• Birchip-Watchem recovered from a 16-point half-time deficit to get over the line against Charlton by three points.
An upset loomed as the Navies led 7.6 to 4.8 at half-time.
However, the Bulls responded with five goals to two in the second half to win 9.13 (67) to 9.10 (64) and retain second position.
It was the third time in the Bulls’ past four games where the margin had been three points or less, with their record in those thrillers 2-1.
Joseph Reid kicked three goals for the Bulls.
Kieran Sait and Dean McKay led the way for the Navies, while Josh McKee and Jack Thompson kicked two goals each.
• Boort bounced back from two losses in a row to defeat bottom side St Arnaud.
The Magpies held the Saints scoreless in the first quarter to lay the foundation for their 39-point win – 15.15 (105) to 10.6 (66).
The slow start proved costly for the Saints, who were outscored by just three points over the remaining three quarters.
Cameron Chalmers (four) and Richard Tibbett (three) were the leading goalkickers for the Magpies.
Daniel London was best for St Arnaud.
• Round 10 games – Boort v Wedderburn, Donald v Charlton, Birchip-Watchem v Sea Lake Nandaly Tigers, St Arnaud v Wycheproof-Narraport.