The Giants managed to secure a 39-point victory, the final scoreboard read Southern Mallee Giants 15.13 (103) Ararat 10.4 (64). 

Giants coach Coleman Schache said the game was hard fought and the Rats put in a strong final quarter. 

“It wasn’t too bad, we were just happy to get the win to be honest,” he said. 

“We had a good start to the game and they came hard late but we held off which was good to see.” 

Schache said it was good to go into the Interleague break with another Wimmera league win under the belt. 

“It definitely keeps us in the mix with the rest of the teams,” he said. 

Schache said his players are adapting well to the new league. 

“It’s a challenge every week. We know every week the opposition is going to front up and we know we have to play four quarters of good footy to win the game,” he said. 

“The boys are loving it at the moment, the challenge each week. We know we have a lot of improvement to go if we want to beat the benchmark sides Minyip-Murtoa and Demons.” 

Lou White had a blistering game for the Giants. 

“He had a consistent four quarters and won the ball at crucial times in the game,” Schache said. 

“Leigh Stewart is in good form as well.” 

Schache said the Rats had some forwards who caused the Giants grief.

Schache said the Giants will continue to train at full intensity through the week and said he looks forward to the Interleague game. 

Rats coach Shane Fisher said there was a strong wind favouring one side of the oval. 

“The Giants won the toss and I think it was a pretty crucial game to win the toss. I reckon it was a six or seven goal breeze,” he said. 

“But the Giants are really going to help the league. Obviously they’ll try and get some juniors to go along the journey with them but their senior ranks play a really good brand of footy.

“They link up well, tall across the board. They are going to take some stopping once they find their feet… maybe today was the day they started to do that.” 

Fisher said he was happy with his teams performance. 

“I thought they were fairly hard at it. In the last quarter they didn’t drop the bundle. They responded to the three quarter time talk which was pleasing,” he said. 

“I thought we did well in the clinches in the middle of the ground. We probably let ourselves down on the turnovers and that’s how the Giants hurt you on their home deck. Their ability to set up and run and carry.”