The Fishers will do battle for a second time this season with plenty riding on the Wimmera Football League match of the round between Ararat and Horsham Saints.
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Just one win separates Shane Fisher’s Ararat and Luke Fisher’s Horsham Saints.
One solitary point separated the two teams when they last met back in round two, with the Rats claiming a crucial victory.
“It was great to get a win but we don’t take too much away from that game,” Ararat coach Shane Fisher said.
“A lot has changed for both sides since then so we will be focused on this weekend’s game first and foremost.”
The Saints are arguably the most in-form side in the competition, with their last two wins coming against 2017 grand finalists Minyip-Murtoa and premiers Horsham Demons.
Saints coach Luke Fisher said he hopes his side can carry some form into Saturday’s big clash.
“We are really looking forward to it. We have built a bit some good momentum in the last few weeks,” he said.
The Saints boast the best defensive record in the league, conceding a miserly average of just 48 points per game.
They have been at their defensive best in recent weeks, allowing just eight goals from two matches, an average of one goal against per quarter.
Ararat’s Fisher said he believes the bigger ground of Alexandra Oval will be an advantage for his team.
“The Saints are playing some good footy and are renowned for plugging up the ground and playing defensively,” he said.
“We have some tall forwards we will try and get in to one-on-one situations. They help each other out well done there so our ball movement will have to be good as well.
“It also helps to play at home. We should have more space to drag their defenders away and prevent them from helping each other as much as we can.”
Luke Fisher said he thinks his side can cope with the ground.
“i don’t think the bigger ground affects us too much. We have been able to play tall and small so we can adjust to whatever works on Saturday,” he said.
“We won’t change how we play too much.”
The Rats narrowly managed to get over the line against Stawell last weekend, with a strong opening to the game proving to be the difference.
Shane Fisher said he hopes to see his side be more efficient in attack this weekend.
“We had 21 more inside 50s last week but just failed to capitalise,” he said.
“We didn’t use the ball as well as we liked.
“There have been times where I would like us to slow the tempo a bit and make smarter decisions with the ball in hand.”