South Warrnambool hold off Hamilton in hard-fought win

The Roosters went into its round 15 clash without co-captain Harry Lee, midfielder Josh Saunders and forward Ricky Henderson to name a few but managed to wrestle control of a contested battle against the Kangaroos and seal a 9.13 (67) to 4.6 (30) victory.

With a top two finish all but certain, Battistello said his team would continue to build on its brand of football in its final three home-and-away games.

"If you have one player come out, the other comes in and plays their role and our system and the way we want to play, that's what was pleasing about today," he said of the win against Hamilton. "We came with an extremely young and inexperienced side. For our kids to come away with a win like that, we're extremely pleased for them."

Under windy conditions at Melville Oval, the Roos found it hard to capitalise on their forward 50 entries while South looked the cleaner of the two teams.

"Outside of the scoreboard, I thought we outplayed them all day," Battistello said. "To play our brand of footy for long periods of time, even though it's not reflected on the scoreboard, against good opposition, we were really pleased."

Hamilton coach Hamish Waldron felt his team had enough opportunity to win the game but were let down at the final hurdle.

"It was more that crucial kick going (inside 50), that last one, that we turned over too much," he said.

Jack Dye was a dynamic presence up forward for South while Shannon Beks (three goals) converted a number of his chances. Flynn Rowe also impressed in his senior debut, the 17-year-old a late call up for ruck Ollie Bridgewater (back).

"It's our 10th first gamer for the year," Battistello said. "We're really proud to do that and (Flynn) competed extremely well, he didn't look out of place at all. It's great to know if we need to call on him, he certainly has the ability to come and make an impact."

Hamilton's Will Povey also made his debut, playing up forward, while Darcy Russell managed three for the home side.

Russell remains a key figure for the Kangaroos' plans moving forward, with Waldron confident the club can build a winning side around the spearhead.

"You can see there is going to be some growth in this group," he said.

Meanwhile, Hamilton's Luke Uebergang is in doubt for the rest of the season after hurting his shoulder.

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