Football
4 April, 2025
Ararat look to go back-to-back
Ararat capped off a remarkable season in 2024, winning the Wimmera Football Netball League premiership after defeating Southern Mallee Thunder by nine points.
It was a memorable season for the back-to-back premiers.
The Rats finished second after the regular season, with just a couple of losses, before defeating Stawell in Qualifying Final One by 56 points and then the Thunder in Qualifying Final Two by 34 points.
This year, coach Tom Mills said the focus is on going back-to-back, and the club has heavily recruited in an effort to secure this.
The focus has been mainly on defenders and midfield, with Brayden Draffin (defender from Camperdown), Harry Ganley (defender from East Ballarat), Liam Arnott (defender returning from overseas), Naish McRoberts (mid from Ararat Eagles), Nick Pell (defender from Wangaratta) and Sam Lowes (wing from Bendigo) joining the ranks.
With new faces joining the team, the club is thankful to have only a few players from last season, Isiah Turner and Rob Armstrong.
"With the positives from last season, obviously winning the flag was great," Mills said.
"Testing our depth with limited numbers last year was great to see multiple players get an opportunity in seniors.
"Lacking was probably our depth at both grades, so we have luckily picked up some players to help that area."
With recruits secured, Mills said the focus was now on getting players familiar with the game plan and then adding different dynamics to how they play.