In just his second senior game, 16-year-old forward Jamie Whitehead was on track to be the hero for the Rats.

Whitehead bagged five goals for the afternoon, including two in the critical stages of the fourth quarter, however late goals to Warriors' co-captains Tom Eckel and Todd Matthews clinched a thrilling win for Stawell.

The Rats began the match in emphatic fashion with Jake Williamson, who made a return from an ankle injury, slotting a long range goal in the opening minute.

Ararat kicked four of the first five majors of the quarter, including consecutive goals to Aaron Searle, but Stawell hit back in the latter stages to pinch the lead at the first change.

Joint-coach David Hosking said the Rats' start was as good as they'd had this season, however he was frustrated that his team let the good work go to waste.

"That was particularly disappointing that we got away to such a good start but then let them back in," he said.

"They didn't structure up like they have been told, particularly around stoppages. We were comprehensively smashed around the stoppages in the first half of the match which really cost us in the end.

"To Stawell's credit they hung in there and got a couple of scrappy goals which got them going.

"We lost the game because we stopped doing the important things in the second half of both the first and second quarters."

Ararat scored the first major of the second term through Jack Ganley, but it was all one way traffic after that, with the Warriors piling on four unanswered goals.

The home side had 11 scoring shots to the Rats' four during the quarter and Hosking said it was Stawell's inaccuracy that kept the margin closer than it should have been.

"It was probably fortunate we were as close as we were at halftime because they had plenty of chances to put us away," he said.

"Halftime I was disappointed and we had a chat and they came back out and started to do the things that were asked of them which got us back in it. If we had of played like that for the entire match and not had those lapses we would have won by four or five goals."

Nick Brain helped get the Rats going in the second half, with a good pass hitting up Harry Ganley who calmly converted.

One minute later Alan Batchelor cleared the ball from the centre and found Ganley, who again reduced the margin with his second from 35 metres out.

Whitehead went on to kick two goals in five minutes midway through the quarter, which saw the Rats right back in the match.

Hosking said a couple of changes across the ground helped Ararat score more freely.

"We structured ourselves differently in the second half. Zach (Louder) and Dan (Vearing) were swapping through the ruck to work Shane Field over and that allowed Cav (Liam Cavanagh) to be a strong bodied midfielder," he said.

"We also left Jamie Whitehead at full forward which was a big ask for a 16-year-old boy in just his second game, but he stood up and was fantastic in the second half. He should be very proud of himself."

Whitehead scored his third goal of the day late in the quarter which squared the ledger at 75 apiece and a defensive mark from Nick Maddison deep in the Warriors’ forward-50 on the siren ensured scores would remain level at the final change.

The fourth term was a scrappy affair, with both sides missing early chances to draw ahead. 

While Ararat momentarily hit the lead, some contentious umpiring decisions swung the momentum back in the Warriors’ favour, with Eckle and Matthews leading their team to a 14.10 (94) to 13.14 (92) victory.

Hosking praised the efforts of Will Bell, who was named the Rats’ best player for his rebounding role out of defence. 

“I though he was terrific and had been that way all year for us,” he said. 

“He just looks really quick when he takes the game on and attacks the ball and that really stood out on the weekend. 

“I was happy with quite a few things, Peter Thompson and Jake Williamson both made solid returns.

“Pete looked like someone who hasn’t played a lot of football in the last few years, but he is always really strong in defence and Jake can play just about anywhere and is a class act. 

“Having those blokes back makes us a better team straight away.”

Hosking said while it hurt to lose another match by less than a kick, the result would provide his charges with another valuable lesson.

“I am not unhappy wholly and solely, and I’m not disappointed necessarily with our effort, it was just that we forgot the basics for a while there which proved costly in the end,” he said.