ARARAT will host Horsham Saints as it hopes for signs of improvement on Saturday following a disastrous start to the season.
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The Rats, currently sitting the foot of the Wimmera Football League table, are coming off a 70-point drubbing at the hands of Stawell last week.
Coach David Hosking said his young side has learned from their big defeat against the Warriors.
“It obviously didn’t do us a lot of good, but it’s far from the end of the world,” he said.
“It’s good for us to know that, if we’re not at our absolute best, we’ll be torn apart.
“Losses like this are always a good learning curve for the younger players.”
Meanwhile, the Saints are still reeling from last week’s loss to rivals Horsham Demons.
The Demons won the grand final rematch by 12 points, with the Saints booting an unflattering 11 behinds in the first half for a return of four majors.
Saints coach Shayne Breuer said his side was constantly improving its form in front of the sticks, and will need to be in good form to topple the home side.
“We always look to improve our accuracy every week, so this week will be no different,” he said.
“Some weeks you can kick everything and really be in the mood, other weeks you might miss a few. Last week was one of those weeks for us.
“The trip to Ararat is always difficult, and Ararat always play the ground well, so we’ll need to play really well if we want to beat them.”
The Saints, last year’s premiers, are fifth on the ladder in 2016, having won and lost two matches.
The A grade netballers will be looking to bounce back from their loss to Stawell at the weekend.
Ararat stayed with Stawell for the majority of the game, but allowed them to pull away in the final quarter.
Ararat B grade team came up with a narrow win against Stawell by five goals 48-43.
The rats managed to come out in front at the final whistle following a fairly scrappy match.
Megan Shea battled hard in the goal circle, slotting 40 goals for the match.
She positioned her self well in the circle and rebounded any missed shots.
She was named the rats best on court.
Alex Antonio played well in the defensive end, stepping up her rebounding efforts and rive down the court as the match played out on Saturday.
Stawell took the honours in C grade.