The Rats beat the Saints 7.10 (52) to 2.3 (15)

Coach Mick Driscoll was very proud of his team after the game.

“It was a good effort,” he said.

“Pretty proud of the boys and they all put a good effort in.”

Both teams worked hard during the first quarter as nerves were settled on the big occasion.

The Saints  managed to get the first score on the board at the netball end but it was the Rats who kicked the only goal of the quarter 5 minutes in.

The Rats lifted up a gear in the second quarter as the sides began controlling the play.

The team held onto the ball well through the first ten minutes and did not give the Saints any opportunity to score.

The Rats managed two goals for the quarter while keeping the Saints scoreless from limited forward 50 entries.

“Our boys settled and did everything we asked for,” Driscoll said.

“They’ve been training really hard and we’ve been teaching them the game and teaching them the positions and they did it all today.”

After half time it was more of the same.

Ararat put two more goals on the board in the first five minutes of the third quarter and the team closed in on back-to-back premierships.

The Saints broke back for a late goal in the third but still trailed by 29 points at the last break.

Any hopes of a fight back were quelled at the start of the last quarter with another Rats goal.

Ararat’s captain Brenton Lewis was awarded the best player.