The Rats were too strong for the Tigers and dominated the ground from the first bounce to run away with a 63-point win.

The win could not have come at a better time for Ararat, after the side suffered three successive loses in the weeks prior.

Rats coach David Hosking said despite the win, he did not think the boys played as well as they could.

“We played okay, but I don’t think it was a particularly good game of football overall,” he said.

“We didn’t hit our targets and our skill levels were ordinary – that was the biggest complaint I had.”

The Rats were best served by Liam Cavanagh, Alan Batchelor and Jacob Bates.

“Liam Cavanagh played really well and Alan Batchelor was good in the midfield and up forward,” Hosking said.

Mick Fratin and Gordon Laurie both kicked four goals for the Rats. 

Hosking said the game resulted in a few injuries.

“Jack Gambling did some damage to his ligaments and Brodie Miller copped a knock in the back – I’m not sure how bad yet though,” he said.

Tigers coach Alan Bennett said the Rats definitely outplayed Nhill.

“Ararat was really good and it’s a credit to them,” he said.

“They had the long road trip up to Nhill, which is never easy, but they did well.

“The Rats have had an up and down year, but they deserve to be where they are on the ladder.”

The Tigers now sit in seventh position on the ladder.

“That is reflective of our performance,” Bennett said.

“Ararat was clearly a much better side on the day.

“However, our backline was good and the boys work really hard.”

Bennett said captain Liam Albrecht was among the side’s top performers.

“He tried really hard and showed some good leadership,” he said.

“Ben Pollock was also great, he is one of our older senior players.”

Bennett said overall the Tigers just weren’t good enough defensively.

“At no stage on Saturday did we play the sort of footy we wanted to play,” he said.

“That was half due to the fact that the opposition didn’t let us, but also our fundamentals let us down.

“Going forward, we need get a bit of confidence and belief back and play more attacking football.”

Hosking said the Rats still had a tough road ahead. “We have Dimboola next week and then Horsham and Minyip-Murtoa, so some difficult games to come,” he said.

“The good think about the league is that there are no easy games.”

The Tigers will play Horsham Saints on Saturday.