The do or die match between the Warrack Eagles saw the lead change on several occasions throughout the contest, but it was the underdog Eagles who found themselves in front, 40 to 37, at the final whistle.

"Coming into finals has been a bit of a tough run for us with illness and injury," Ararat coach Rebecca Skrabl said.

"I guess it is disappointing for us not to be able to get over those hurdles, but it just caught up with us in the end.

"We peaked really early and had a beautiful run there during the season where we were playing to our absolute potential and then it all just seemed to fall apart."

The Rats began the preliminary final in good form, with Megan Shea shooting nine of the team's 11 goals to help her side to a two goal buffer by quarter time.

Skrabl said a few changes to the Warrack line-up improved its performance, which saw the Eagles swing the lead in their favour by the main break.

"We didn't have a really bad second quarter, it wasn't our best either, but they really lifted too which allowed them to take the lead," she said.

"They also brought on a new shooter during that quarter (Summer Schultz) who was really dynamic and that made things tough.

"We had a bit of a change in the goal circle ourselves during the third, bringing Tahnee (Walker) into shooter and Jakki (Gibson) went out to wing attack and that move helped us."

By three-quarter-time it was all square on the scoreboard 30 apiece with both teams needing to put everything on the line in order to book the final spot in the decider.

The Rats came out firing, but it was Warrack which finished the stronger of the two.

"We had our chance in the last quarter, we got two up at one stage and I thought we were really starting to pull away and then unfortunately they forced a couple of turnovers and got a couple of rebounds which gave them the momentum," Skrabl said.

"I will say, they were honestly flawless in their last quarter. They were very hard to beat and didn't make mistakes."

Defender Tiffany Boatman and midcourt player Olivia West were named Ararat’s top two performers.

“Tiff had a really good game, she always gives as much as she can and worked really hard again on the weekend,” Skrabl said.

“The thing with Westy, you never really realise how much you miss her until she is off the court and then you really get a sense of how solid and reliable she is.

“She is one of our most important players.”

A goal-for-goal first quarter saw Ararat’s 15 and under A team go into the first break even with the Horsham Saints in the preliminary final.

Both teams kept up their consistent performance during the second term to see the margin just one goal at the main break in favour of the Saints.

“We chose to make a few changes in the third term to give our midcourt players a break so we could change it back for the fourth,” joint-coach Brooke Williamson said.

“Unfortunately the girls couldn’t adapt to the newly changed team as well as the rest of the game.”

“So at the end of the third quarter we were down by six goals, but we knew it wasn’t over and those girls weren’t going to stop pushing until the final whistle had been blown.”

The Rats managed to outscore their opposition in the final quarter to peg back the margin, but it wasn’t enough in the end, as the team went down by three goals in what was a nail biting final term.

“We knew the game was going to be tough and the girls did want to win, but we were still very happy with our achievement of third place, especially for Lauri and I who are first time coaches,” Williamson said.

“We had one stand out for the game, Angie Stoneman. She managed to take many intercepts and stop Horsham Saints’ fast plays, as well as assist our other defender who had the challenge of playing on a very tall, consistent player.

“The girls put on an excellent game for the crowd and for Lauri and I, and we are just proud knowing that they couldn’t have done anymore and that they had given it their all.”

The Ararat 15 and under B team won through to tomorrow’s grand final with a hard fought nine goal win.

It was a terrific start by the Rats as they came out confident and broke away to a big 11 to two score line at the first break.

Coach Megan Shea said this was a fantastic effort given midcourt player Indie Calvert, who has been instrumental throughout the finals, was unavailable.

Lilly Sewell again had a brilliant game, making herself a target in the goal circle and shooting partner Annie Shea passed in accurately to her.

Sewell also rebounded strongly, allowing herself another opportunity at missed shots.

The Rats continued to maintain a gap by halftime, with defenders Emily May and Ella Carlyle combining strongly in defence and turning the ball over more than in the previous final against Horsham.

They worked their opponents early, getting them out of position and pulled in rebounds, while Shea said the pair also respected possession more this week.

Karly Griffits pushed herself for a whole game in the centre and was rewarded with a few held ball decisions in the last quarter due to her pressure down the court, as the Rats went on to record the 33 to 24 victory.

Ararat will be at full strength for this week’s grand final and keen to take on the Horsham Demons, who the Rats only lost to by three goals in the second semi final.