Ararat coach David Hosking said the end result shows that his team still has 'a fair way to go' to match it with the Wimmera's top sides.

"We got a lesson in how to play good team footy. What's missing from our game are the team acts," he said.

"There's a few things we can learn from Horsham. The two-way running in the midfield for one, which is something I have mentioned a few times, they do it very well.

"Also, when we did put a couple of hard tags on two of their guys to try and nullify their effectiveness, the ability of each Horsham player working together to free those two blokes was again just a really good example of one team reacting to another team's tactics. That was out on the ground too, without the coach having to mention it.

"They look and see what is happening in a game environment and then react accordingly how good is that."

The Rats trailed by one goal at the first change after a tough opening quarter, however as the rain began to fall Horsham opened up a gap by playing the wet conditions much better than its hosts.

Beau Cosson and Gordon Laurie put goals on the board for Ararat, but they were few and far between as the Demons dictated terms.

Xavier Vearing was one shining light for the Rats as halftime approached, with the ruckman proving to be an imposing presence in the aerial contests around the ground.

"I just think Xavier has been getting better and better every week. What was impressive about Saturday's performance, in a day that wasn't ideal for big men, was his ability to hold onto some really good marks," Hosking said.

"That probably helped reduce the damage in the first quarter especially, because he was pushing back and taking some good grabs."

Ararat was lucky it only faced a 32-point halftime deficit, with Horsham inaccurate during the second quarter kicking 4.12 to the Rats' 1.4.

Hosking said from the outset the early indicators weren't good.

"I pointed to the inside-50 entries at quarter time, which were about 16 to 11 in their favour, and said if that kept up across four quarters we were in trouble because it translates to 24 or so more by the end of the game you can't win if that happens and it did continue that way," he said.

"Our midfield still need to become accountable if we are to compete with the very best teams.

"The back six had held up pretty well under relentless pressure, but sooner or later it is like anything, if you keep pounding away eventually something has got to give."

The Rats' output after the main break was an improvement, with Jake Williamson presenting well across the half-forward line and James Laidlaw and Liam Cavanagh continually repelling attacks from the back half.

Goals to Jack Ganley, Cosson and Ryan Bates helped Ararat match it with Horsham during the term, while Hosking said skipper Alan Batchelor's tagging role on counterpart Nic Pekin was a main factor in restricting the Demons' dominance.

“I thought Alan’s shutdown game on Pekin was just outstanding,” he said.

“Pekin was running amok in the first half and then Alan went to him and he really did struggle to have much of the ball after that.

“We thought size-wise it wasn’t a perfect match up, Pekin is not huge but he is bigger than Alan, but we felt Batchy would be the only one with the discipline, the fitness and the concentration levels to stick with him.”

James Hosking was also given the tough task of running with Horsham speedster Billy Lloyd, but battled hard and managed to slow down the talented Demon’s drive during the second half.

Despite the improved effort by Ararat, a four goal to one fourth quarter from Horsham pushed the margin beyond 50 points.

Hosking said the 14.19 (103) to 6.10 (46) loss has given the Rats plenty to focus on in the coming week.

“We have really got to get the right mindset and think about what it means to play team football,” he said.

“It is not just about 21 players running around trying to get a kick. Individuals getting multiple possessions doesn’t make you a good footy team — it is much, much more than that.

“We have to learn to work for each other.”