In the end, the Wickers could not break through for their first finals series since 2013, falling to 3-9 and 14th on the ladder.

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"From a senior side (perspective), as a whole we were disappointed with how we finished up, we probably lost a little bit of momentum with the stop-start nature of the season," football manager Brad Jarvis said.

"Got a few injuries where it sort of counted. In the end we thought we would have finished a bit higher on the ladder than where we did."

Early season signs were promising after a slow start.

Creswick was beaten easily by Clunes and Learmonth in rounds one and two but rebounded quickly to claim an impressive seven-point win over the much improved Daylesford in round three.

A second consecutive win over Carngham-Linton had the Wickers' season back on track and helped them enter a clash against reigning premiers Waubra confident.

That confidence nearly took Creswick the whole way.

It trailed by just three points at three-quarter time after a 2.3 to 1.4 third term and looked poised to cause an upset.

Waubra put the foot down with a 4.3 to 0.2 last quarter onslaught to take the win and in hindsight, put an end to Creswick's finals hopes.

"We had a couple of injuries that round and we just lost our momentum after that," Jarvis said.

The Wickers proceeded to lose another six games in a row in what was a tough stretch opposition wise.

Five of these sides were eventual top eight finishers, including top four sides Gordon, Dunnstown and Rokewood-Corindhap in three straight weeks.

A hamstring injury to midfielder Patrick Taranto did not help Creswick's cause or his own hopes for the season either.

Taranto was leading The Courier's Central Highlands player of the year award at the time of his injury and had been named in the side's best players in four of its first six games.

He missed the next three games and watched Creswick's finals hopes dwindle and his lead be overtaken.

The appearance of former Collingwood superstar Dane Swan against Skipton in round six was a highlight for the Wickers.

The Brownlow medalist did it all for Creswick, starting down back and taking three intercept marks in the first term, before moving into the midfield and forward in the second-half, kicking three goals.

Jarvis said some added midfield depth will be the aim in the off-season alongside the promising youngsters coming up through the junior ranks.

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