The Warriors needed some fine individual performances from their senior footballers to stand up and ward off a spirited Rats challenge.

At the final siren Stawell led by just five points, 7.9 (51) to 6.10 (46), as they held on to an important win in their hunt for a top-three finish in the WFNL ladder.

Warriors football department co-coordinator Blair Hart was impressed by the Rats' improved performance and their pressure on the day.

"Their high pressure is what changed the game a little bit. They didn't give us much room really," he said.

"We tried to flick the ball around with lots of handballs to try and break their pressure and we couldn't. They just kept at us all day."

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Stawell led by 14 points at three-quarter time, but Ararat pieced together a challenge in the final term.

The Rats kicked 3.5 in the quarter, failing to cash in their strong finish in on the scoreboard, with the Warriors good enough to clinch a much needed win.

In what was a true arm wrestle all afternoon, Hart said it was the Warriors' senior players who stepped up.

"It was one of the days where it was our leaders who really stood up," he said.

"A few our younger cavalry were just a bit down, which is probably why we were down a bit as well.

"I hope they are starting to realise how important they are to our team.

"They were a bit off and didn't hunt the the ball as well as they have in other games, so it came down to our older, more experienced players to will us over the line."

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Coach Tom Eckel was named best on ground for the Warriors, with George Manton also in the best after his three-goal performance.

It was also a family celebration at Central Park with the Warriors' Jackson Dark scoring a win in his 150^th senior game with the club while Tracey Dark also played her 450^th match with Stawell.

Tracey Dark was playing in C Grade on the day, with the Warriors completing an impressive 19-goal win, handing them their eighth win from nine match so far in 2021.

It was a tough afternoon for the Warriors on the court, as they were upset by a resurgent Rats A Grade squad.

The Rats had won just two games for the 2021 season so far, but they raced out of the blocks at Central Park and led 14-6 at quarter-time.

Despite Stawell's best efforts they couldn't close the gap, going down 49-29 as they lost their second consecutive match and dropped to fifth on the WFNL A Grade ladder.

In the A Grade and in the senior football Nhill are yet to win a match in the 2021 WFNL season, meaning the Warriors will be eyeing the opportunity to return to form with their round 11 match-up.

Round 11 fixtures:

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