When the final siren sounded, just 13 points separated top of the ladder and undefeated Box Hill Hawks and the bottom-placed North Ballarat Roosters, which are yet to win a game.
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The Roosters put on a competitive display in front of a home crowd, winning the second and fourth quarters against a dominant Box Hill outfit in Victorian Football League competition at Eureka Stadium on Saturday.
The Roosters were first to kick a major when Lachlan George converted on the run almost nine minutes into the opening quarter.
But the Hawks surged late with three goals in four minutes to go into the first break with a 15-point lead.
In the second term, Roosters again got out of the blocks early with two quick goals and a behind to cut the lead to just two points, before the Hawks responded.
But the game was lost in the third, with the Roosters only managing 39 per cent kicking efficiency and seven inside fifties to allow the Hawks a 21-point buffer going into the final change.
While the Roosters rallied in the fourth, they were unable to capitalise on opportunities in front of goal to really threaten the Hawks.
Roosters coach Marc Greig said it was frustrating to once again be so close without getting the result.
“We knew it was going to be a bit of a challenge, but we felt our first 15 minutes were really pleasing (unlike last week) and we won the second and the fourth,” he said.
“We really focused on stoppages this week and to come out with eight more stoppages against (ruckman) Marc Pittonet, who has played AFL, we felt we did a reasonable job in the midfield.
“They are on top of the ladder and we showed we are not far off it, it’s just that class that we do lack.”
The Roosters lost James Keeble in the second quarter with a leg injury and while Greig hoped it was just an impact injury, he said the Roosters did not want to risk bringing Keeble back on.
“He was going really well as an inside midfielder, which was a role change for him,” Greig said.
“For him to go down, we felt we lost a bit of run and drive out of the middle in the second half.”
The Roosters also lost ruckman Nick Nott at the start of the third due to a meniscus injury.
Second gamer Nicholas Hausler stood up to play the second half in the ruck and despite his inexperience, finished with 22 hit outs.
