Football
8 July, 2025
Ararat have all the answers against Dimboola
Ararat had all the answers on Saturday when they lined up against Dimboola, recording a convincing 124-point victory, demonstrating why they are the ladder leaders.
Final scores were Ararat 21.15 (141) to Dimboola 2.5 (17).
Ararat opened the game with four goals – two in the first quarter – while Dimboola managed only a point.
By half-time, the lead was out to 72 points, with scores 11.7 (73) to 0.1 (1).
It was a minimally better quarter for Dimboola after half-time as they recorded their only goals for the match, but Ararat marched on, up 13.9 (87) to 2.5 (17) heading into the final quarter.
Ararat held their opposition to no score again in the last quarter while having a big final term, adding 8.6 to their final tally.
The winners were served well by Harry Ganley and Sonny Kettle, with Jack Ganley finding the big sticks six times, while for Dimboola, Andrew Moore and Ben Miller were the better players, with Jack Williams and Lachlan Mackley their only goal scorers.
According to co-coach Andrew Moore, his side knew how consistent and strong their opposition were going to be heading into the match.
"They are a good side and they have a great connection with each other," Moore said.
"You can see they have played a lot of footy with each other, which is nice to have and a bit of a luxury.
"But for us it was a good opportunity, with a number of outs and changes to our team, for our players twho hat are younger, which was pleasing to see.
"And I thought we were able to tick some of the areas off that we were focusing on."
Moore said they were also able to improve as the day went on, which was nice, despite the fact the day was tough.
"It was a good learning curve for us, knowing they are the best in the comp at the moment, and you could see that Saturday," he said.
"Hopefully, we are able to take a bit away from that and implement changes for our guys to see where we need to grow and improve both individually and as a team."
Moore was again impressed by the youngsters, including Declan Paech, an under-17 player who has played a few games in seniors this season.
"Jackson O'Neill down the back line, he has been fantastic for us all year," Moore added.
"He's not showing his age at the moment and getting better and better, which is nice.
"Patty (Patrick) MacDonough, I thought he was strong in the ruck.
"We had to play around with his positioning but I thought he had a strong day, and Benny Brett and Benny Miller, those guys are consistent contributors though the entire year and were able to lead from the front again."