North Warrnambool Eagles book ticket to grand final with thrilling win over South Warrnambool

The skipper finished the Eagles' 11-point preliminary final victory against South Warrnambool with his right arm in a sling but has been cleared of structural damage.

"I know Adam is super tough, it would need to be a pretty good injury (for him to miss) I'd think," Dowie said.

The Eagles booked a 2019 league grand final re-match against Koroit after a thrilling come-from-behind win against the Roosters at Port Fairy.

Dowie said his group would enjoy grand final week but had enough experience to know it wasn't just there to compete.

"Grand finals are huge," he said. "The week's a really good week, and a lot of guys played in that 2019 grand final (three-point loss) which was a heart-breaker.

"Today, it's given them a lot of belief if they didn't have it already."

When staring down the barrel of a preliminary final defeat against South Warrnambool, the Eagles found a way to win.

It was a contested battle early, the Roosters taking a slim two-point lead into half-time.

In a game of ebbs and flows, the Eagles came out firing in the third but couldn't capitalise against a well-drilled South defence.

First-year Rooster Jack Dye then stepped up in the face of pressure, kicking back-to-back goals before teammate Archie Stevens made it a 21-point lead midway through the third.

Eagle Dylan Parish, who returned for his first senior appearance since round 15, was pivotal in providing a target up forward and slotted a goal after the three-quarter-time siren to make it a 15-point margin.

It was the momentum shift the Eagles needed, as they clawed back the score in the fourth quarter to hit the lead with three minutes left to play.

With the Eagles and Roosters contesting a similarly tight qualifying final, which Eagles won in overtime, Dowie said it was incredible to see another game turn on its head.

"To see it happening again, it was quite incredible," he said. "No side gave an inch. It could have gone either way, another five minutes and it could have been South."

"That last quarter, that was a lot of character."

Dowie said the Eagles tried several things in the last quarter, all which worked in the team's favour.

Jett Bermingham, shrugging off a tag, stood up late in the game with two goals while Jackson Grundy, playing forward, put the Eagles in front before setting up a Dion Johnstone goal to seal the match.

Along with Wines' injury, Billie Smedts came off in the final quarter with a knock to the ribs, though Dowie said Smedts would be fine for the grand final.

South Warrnambool coach Mat Battistello said his group would do a lot of self-reflection in the coming days after a lost opportunity to make a grand final.

"We had a chat about it after... and we felt we let ourselves down," he said. "We take full responsibility for it.

"We were 19 or 21 points up 10 minutes into the last quarter and we just didn't defend well enough around the contest.

"We might have played better for three quarters but didn't put it on the scoreboard.

"We left some goals on the park and we know (North) play death by 1000 lashes. They were able to hang in to their credit."

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