Ararat coach Shane Fisher has praised the level of competitiveness in the Wimmera Football League after a hard-fought win over Warrack Eagles on Saturday.
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The Rats hit the road looking to bounce back from a defeat last weekend, met with wet and difficult conditions at Anzac Park.
Ararat hit the lead early in the match but some experienced Eagles helped the home side back into the game by half-time.
"In the first quarter we controlled the game to a certain degree and got three goals up early in the second," Fisher said.
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"After that Ryan McKenzie and Nick Peters started to dominate and taught us a bit about wet weather footy."
The Rats came out with a renewed vigour in the second half, dominating to record a 14.13 (97) to 6.7 (43) win, resembling the scoreline of a dry weather match.
"People can look at the score and think conditions were alright but we got our fair share of rain," Fisher said.
Fisher said it was the "workman-like players" that stood up when need be.
"Everyone started to play their role, our defenders really started to get on top and we started moving the ball forward as much as we could," he said.
"That was led by the likes of Jack Ganley and Dan Mendes
Rats players were put on notice during the week after a disappointing loss to Minyip-Murtoa. Fisher said some home truths were delivered and players answered.
"There are no more credits in the bank, you have to play well to stay in side," he said.
"There were a few phone calls and one on one chats around the need to improve this week and they responded very well.
"Our ressies are going well so there is that healthy competition for spots."
The Rats lost interleague player Dylan Shelley to concussion early in the game and he will likely miss next week's match against Nhill.
"We will see during the week but most likely we will play it on the safe side and give him a week off," Fisher said.
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With Nhill winning their first game of the season at the weekend and Warrack proving challenging, Fisher said he is excited by how the competition is sitting at the moment.
"The biggest thing for our league and the healthiness of it is the win-loss ratio not meaning anything," he said.
"Warrack only have a handful of wins but they look to have a bright future.
"We will take Nhill on their merits. They are a proud club and in this league anyone can get up on any given day."
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