Ararat v Stawell through the years

In the lead-up to the club's celebrations, we will look back on the history of one of the country's oldest clubs.

This week we will look back on their original rivalry with Stawell and how it has continued to the current day.

Since 1902, Ararat (160 wins) has a convincing advantage over Stawell (117 wins) in the Wimmera competition.

Ararat's highest score against their oldest rival came in 2002, when they scored 195 (30 goals, 15 behinds). Their lowest score in over 100 years of competition was in 1909 when they only managed to score seven behinds in a match.

Stawell's biggest score against Ararat was in 1939 when they scored 183 points (28 goals and 15 behinds). The lowest score was in 1911 when they also only scored seven behinds in a match.

Ararat Football Club president David Hosking said the rivalry between the two sides was "intense, but good fun".

"Off-field it was certainly more friendlier than it was on the field," he said.

"We always went hard at it on the field but we always had respect for each other once the siren went."

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Hosking said the rivalry was inevitable with the close proximity of the two towns.

"Because our towns are so close we were friends with a lot of guys we were playing against so because you knew them reasonably well you wanted to beat them," he said.

'I still think the Ararat and Stawell game is the highlight of our year.

"Even if one of the teams aren't travelling as well there is always a finals like atmosphere whenever we face off."

In the early days of the Wimmera competition, The Ararat Advertiser only fueled the rivalry as they would often refer to Ararat as the 'capital' and Stawell as the 'suburb'.

Ararat's first match against Stawell came in August 1874 with the encounter between the two sides being played at Stawell Cricket Ground ending in a 15-all draw.

On Saturday September 19 Ararat faced Stawell for the second time in the year with the Ararat Advertiser describing the match as "pleasant" to the great humor of both teams.

One final match between the neighbouring town was scheduled to take place on the 10th of October, however was cancelled due to the non-attendance of a number of Stawell players.

In June 1886, Ararat traveled to Stawell and suffered "a crushing defeat", losing five goals to nil. However, it wasn't the football the Ararat Advertiser was talking about in the next week's paper.

'The visitors do not speak in glowing terms of the hospitality extended to them on their visit," the Ararat Advertiser wrote.

"Setting aside the spirit of fair play, the defeated team was hooted even after leaving the field, and an unsavory egg was sent flying amongst them. It is not likely the team will again visit Stawell."

In July 1891, Stawell defeated Ararat in a Sprague-Gregory match with the Warriors winning the match 25-11. The Ararat Advertiser claimed Stawell were "convinced of their superiority" and did no training for the match.

It was also reported that rumours reached Ararat that under "no circumstances were they to be allowed to win" with Ararat questioning the credibility of Stawell selecting a best 22 player as the central umpire for the match.

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The score line was in the favour of Stawell, however the Ararat Advertiser claimed the umpire was "certainly not giving them fair play" with Stawell receiving free kicks with "the reason being a mystery to both players and spectators".

The match report also discussed the rowdiness of the Stawell crowd toward the Ararat players.

"At one time, the Ararat captain would have been justified in taking his team off the field," the Ararat Advertiser wrote.

"When Baxter marked the ball on the occasion of kicking the goal, a crowd lined down the ground from goal post to player, and hooted and groaned, whilst the player was preparing to kick, presumably with the intention of putting him out in his aim."

Since the Wimmera Football League's inception in 1902 the two clubs have faced of eight times for senior premiership glory with each club winning four premierships.

Ararat's first premiership against their original rival came in 1904 with Paddy Carrol leading the side.

In 1920, Austin Carroll coached Ararat to their seventh flag and second against Stawell. Clen Denning was at the helm when Ararat defeated Stawell in 1949 and Wilf Dickeson led Ararat to the 1975 premiership against Stawell.

In 1933, Stawell defeated Ararat by five points to win the premiership and also defeated the Rats in 1950 by 19 points to claim the flag. In 2000 Stawell would once again defeat Ararat by 10 points to claim the premiership.

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