A YOUNG Ararat side easily accounted for Dimboola in a dominant round 10 performance on Saturday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
There was no sign of the slow starts that have often plagued the Rats this season as the side built on a 40-point half-time lead to eventually win 22.10.142 to 9.8.62.
Ararat coach Terry Keliar said he was pleased for his side be rewarded for its effort with a good win.
“It was a very positive result,” he said. “They have been going at it hard each week without getting results and in recent weeks we have sat down for a mid-season review.
“We’d talked about thing we want to focus on like endeavour and pressure; they certainly took that into the game.”
“Before the game we talked about how this was likely a result we would need to grind out in order to get a win,” Keliar said.
“To come out and play such a dominant first half was particularly pleasing.
“We think we have been competitive around the ground for large parts of the season without being able to get it done on the scoreboard because teams would kicks six or seven goals against in a quarter. For us to turn that around was big.”
Things went from bad to worse for a Dimboola side which had seemed primed for a big game before the first bounce.
The side did not add anything to its half-time score during the third as the deficit grew to 67-points.
Ararat was unrelenting as it went on to win by 80-points.
Jack Ganley led the way for the Rats.
Keliar said his work playing provided a vital link through the corridor.
His three goals were bettered only by the five kicked by tom Mills on day where there was more of the team on the goal scorers list than off it.
“Tom has only just turned 19 and he is one of the best kids I’ve seen,” Keliar said. “Each week he has a tough match-up because teams know about him but he stands his ground. He has a great set of hands and just marks everything that comes his way.”
He said it was a real team performance by his side.
“Hopefully the team takes a lot of self-belief out of the win,” Keliar said.
“It was not only a win but a big win and hopefully if we continue to work on those things we have talked about then we can get a couple more before the end of the season.”
