THE wait is finally over for Ararat Rats.
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Ararat snapped a six-game losing streak on Saturday to record its first victory of the Wimmera Football League season. The Rats did it in style, smashing Dimboola to the tune of 78 points at Alexandra Oval.
They held Dimboola goal-less in the third term and booted eight goals to the Roos’ three in the final stanza to come away with the points.
Rats coach David Hosking is hoping Saturday’s win will give his side the confidence it so desperately needed after a horror run of late. Hosking praised the performance of his players, although he did admit there were lapses in the game.
“In the first quarter and second half, we played pretty well,” Hosking said.
“There was a bit of a breeze and we were against it in the first and third quarters. The work we did in those quarters set the game up for us.
“For that reason, I was probably a bit disappointed in our second quarter. We had the advantage and didn’t quite take it. We weren’t awful – we perhaps didn’t the ball as well as we could have.”
Jack Ganley was in the thick of the action once again, booting six goals in a best on ground performance. Lachie Hamilton added four majors while Gordon Laurie – still battling a hip flexor injury – managed to contribute three towards the 19.11 (125) to 7.5 (47) victory.
Hosking was impressed by the performance of Stephen Phillips. Normally a defender, Phillips moved into the midfield while Gordon Laurie was sent deep into the forward line.
“I think Stephen enjoyed the freedom in having the ability to get up the ground,” Hosking said.
Other Rats players that stood out against Dimboola were Dan Mendes and Adam Haslett.
Mendes is getting back to his best in the midfield, while Haslett was moved from defence into the middle and across half-forward.
Co-assistant coach, Brady Miller, is also finding some form after a relatively quiet start to the season.
Hosking wasn’t surprised by the eventual 78-point margin.
“The stats that we take on the day indicated that we were likely to win by that margin,” he said.
“We talked about it at half time. I said to the boys that if wee keep these numbers in the second half, we’ll have a really good day.”
Dimboola is now the only team without a win after seven rounds of Wimmera League football.
