The Rats are sitting seventh on the ladder, but hold a 3-3 record and have a match-up against the struggling Nhill to come.

Senior coach Matt Walder said after their tough loss to start the season on Good Friday, the club has responded and are travelling above expectations.

"After the Good Friday clash we had our eyes opened up a bit there, as a playing group and as a coaching group. We took a lot away from that game," he said.

"We are probably just a bit ahead of where we thought we might be and in a surprisingly good place.

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"Not to say we are totally satisfied or complacent with our group, but we are 3-3 and have a good opportunity to go to 4-3 and establish ourselves in the middle part of the ladder and vie for a finals position later in the year.

"We have got ourselves into a good position, but sustaining that is the next trick."

Walder said the change in COVID-19 restrictions had altered the club's training and playing plans, but it was all part of the journey for their young list.

"Put it this way, in our squad the average age of our backline is around 18.5 years old, so there is a lot of life lessons to happen over the course of the year for our group," he said.

"It is just about building that senior football resilience and understanding what it takes to step up each week.

"We were going to face Nhill and then we were going to have a double-bye, so we had organised some alternate activities to have a mental and physical reprieve for our young group leading into the Giants game, but now it has been turned on its head.

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"We will just be trying to keep the group on the same keel they were on, but how it all affects us, we will find out next time we front up."

On the courts the Rats netballers are struggling, also sitting seventh on the ladder with just two wins from their first six games.

In 2019 the A Grade finished fourth and they have looked some way off that level so far in 2021.

But prior to the state government's lockdown the Rats' scored an upset 20-goal win over finals fancies Horsham Saints, proving they could recapture their best.

They will be hoping to continue this form and make a run for the finals when they face Nhill on the Rats' return to the court.

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