Sport
20 June, 2025
Rats battle hard against the Saints
Ararat A-grade netballers put in a respectable performance against premiership favourites, Horsham Saints, losing by 45 goals at Alexandra Oval in round eight of the Wimmera Football Netball League.
The Rats stayed with the Saints early, trailing by nine goals at quarter-time and continued the fight in the second, scoring 15 goals, to stay within 13 goals at half-time.
The Saints started to get on top in the third quarter, showing their class, scoring 27 goals to lead by 33 at three-quarter time before scoring another 23 in the last to run out 87-42 winners.
Maggie Astbury was outstanding again in goals, scoring 22 with Laney McLoughlan scoring 16 and Annie Shea scoring four.
The Biddle sisters, Faith and Paige were excellent in defence.
Unfortunately for Ararat, Jessica Taylor went down with a knee injury halfway through the match in her 100 th game.
Despite the loss, coach Sally Noble has taken a lot out of it.
“We need to slow down our game a bit, as we had a few unforced errors trying to rush the ball as quick as we could,” Noble said.
“Jessica’s 100 th game lifted the girls a bit, but after she went down with that knee injury, everybody felt flat and lost enthusiasm.
“I don’t think the scoreboard reflected on how we played. The Saints got away from us in the second half, and they are highly skilled, and we can learn a lot from them.”
Tomorrow, the Rats could put one foot in the top five when they take on Nhill at Davis Park. Nhill is currently sitting in sixth place, two games behind, with Warrack half a game behind them. Should the Rats secure the win, they could find themselves three games clear of sixth spot, and right in the finals race.
“If Jessica can’t play, Demi Bligh will take over her role,” Noble said.
“Nhill at home is going to be a tough game and it’s a lot of traveling for our girls.
“We just need to go back to basics, focus on our game and playing four-quarters and take it from there.”
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