The Wickers held off a surging Lakers' team to win by the barest of margins - two points.

Emotions ran high as the win - the first since round 11 last year - exorcised the demons of the nightmarish loss to the Lakers earlier this season.

Proud coach Glenn Kerr thanked players and managers as he deservedly went out with a victory.

Scoring was kept to a total of four goals, two to each team, with none in the second half.

Given this scoreline, the game was really decided by a wealth of behinds.

The rainy gale favoured Learmonth in the first term but Creswick had come to play and held sway for the first 15 minutes.

The remainder of the quarter was Learmonth's who led 2.6 to a point at the break.

Creswick dominated the second term and, with Brett Hagen, Tim Rieniets and Caleb Hepworth leading the way, edged within three points midway through the term.

Big "expectation'' questions loomed as the team should have been able to gain a handy margin by half time.

Mario Lockyer broke clear but sprayed. Another set shot went awry and the destiny question remained unanswered, with Creswick trailing by a point at the main break.

The third quarter saw the Wickers maintain control, adding five behinds into the gale while holding Learmonth to just a point.

Leading at the final break by three points, and with a howling wind to aid, things looked rosy.

Learmonth was expected to launch a final stanza but Creswick jumped them.

Two golden opportunities, with marks 20 metres out in front of goal, were rushed by a team which didn't know how to deliver a knockout blow and only a behind resulted.

After 12 minutes of control, the lead was just four points.

The Learmonth surge came and it was the Wickers turn to stem the tide.

Huge plays by Marty McGuiness, who twice marked overhead to quell Learmonth attacks, and Hagen's chase down tackle and turnover lifted hopes. To a man, Creswick banded together to leak just two rushed behinds, maintain control, and relish the sound of the final siren.