ARARAT has recorded a stunning come-from-behind victory against Stawell on Saturday morning, claiming a thrilling under-17 football grand final triumph.

The Rats were outplayed for the majority of the match, but used sporadic patches of dominance to stay in the contest, before eventually pulling away in the final term.

In a see-sawing encounter, the Warriors found themselves in front by a couple of goals at numerous stages during the match, but could not convert those periods into match-winning leads.

Lucky Ika gave the Warriors a 13-point lead midway through the third term, but two consecutive goals to Adam Haslett had the Rats trailing by just two points at the final change.

Haslett finished the match with five majors and was a strong presence for his side when it really needed him.

Both coaches implored their sides to put in one final effort in the final term, but it was Ararat who responded the best, running out 8.8 (56) to 7.6 (48) victors.

It held Stawell to just the one-goal in the last quarter – it came when the result was already beyond doubt – while the Rats kicked two themselves to skip out to a handy 14-point lead late in the term.

Naish McRoberts, Lucky Ika and Aidan Jensz were prolific for the Warriors with two goals each, but it was not enough to hold off the rampant Rats in the final stanza.

Ararat coach Ali Williamson said he was thrilled to have emerged victorious in a tight match.

“We’re thrilled, of course. It’s a group of boys who have come up through the under-14s,” he said.

“They’re an exceptional bunch of boys and they’re great characters.

“They really stuck to the task today.”

Williamson said his side was always confident it could run out the match well.

“We certainly had some plans. We’d done some homework,” he said.

“I said to the boys it was going to be the last minute of the last quarter.

“And we stuck to our guns and knew we could overrun them.”