ARARAT coach David Hosking has branded Sunday’s disappointing 15-point Wimmera Football League elimination final loss to Stawell as insipid.
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The Rats were jumped early, fought hard to work their way back into the contest but were their own worst enemy in front of goal as the Warriors made the most of their chances when it mattered.
Hosking said his side did not deserve to win.
“It was a bad, bad day and you can’t have a bad day in finals because there is no next week,” he said.
“We’re pretty disappointed.”
The mood was grim in the Rats’ rooms post-match and Hosking did not hold back in delivering an honest message to his playing group.
“After the game I gave them a bit of a spray because they’ve just wasted a year with that performance,” he said.
“That was a very, very insipid display. We didn’t deserve to win – they did.”
The margin blew out to 26 points in the second term, however goals to Jack Ganley and Gordon Laurie sparked a mini-comeback from the Rats, who went into half time with a five point deficit.
Ararat could have easily been in front at three quarter time, having won the inside-50 count for the third quarter but poor kicking cost them dearly.
At the final huddle, Hosking pleaded for his players to retain their composure and man-up when they don’t have the football. However Stawell managed to maintain its intensity, particularly through the midfield. Gordon Laurie was restricted to just one goal for the match and was closely watched by Stawell defender Todd Matthews, while Rats defenders Stephen Phillips and Liam Cavanagh battled manfully.
Hosking was left to ponder what went wrong in the 10.12 (72) to 7.15 (57) loss.
“If we had have kicked straight through the second and third quarters in particular, then the result could’ve been very different,” Hosking said.
The Rats coach said despite controlling the middle portion of the match, he did not believe his side played well.
“I’d have worn it if our effort level had have been up – sometimes you just get beaten by a better side – but today we were massively disappointing on a day that was really important,” Hosking said.
“We need to understand that that’s not good enough (and) we’ve got to live with it for the next six months.”
- Ararat’s under 17s season is still alive following a thrilling six-point win over Stawell. See Friday’s edition for more.